Artificial Intelligence remains a hot topic in the pharma spectrum, and the current ChatGPT wave has begun many more conversations. As of now, there happens to be a bifurcation of attitudes, with some researchers pretty much excited when it comes to AI prospects, which doesn’t come as a surprise. It is well worth noting that researchers and chemists happen to be people who have been involved for decades in making cures with the help of computers.
Using AI tools responsibly
The predominant reason why pharma companies make use of AI is because they want to reach the market more quickly with novel discoveries. However, there are still some who don’t happen to trust black boxes, and there are good reasons for that.
Black boxes happen to be associated with deep learning, which is a one-of-a-kind AI technique. Apparently, some of these systems can go on to create game-changing outputs; however, they are unable to explain how a conclusion was reached in a way that humans can understand. That said, it is indeed possible to come up with models that happen to be self-explanatory and are commonly referred to as explainable AI.
In the last several months, there has been a lot of hype about ChatGPT, and it has even led some sceptics to feel that they should perhaps understand the potential impacts that the AI has. As a matter of fact, some are even trying to go ahead with adventurous things like diagnosing patient diseases pertaining to rare disorders, forecasting viral mutations when it comes to vaccine creation, and replacing the age-old animal trials when testing the new drugs.
It is well to be noted that the computer-aided drug discovery phenomenon dates back to the 1960s. The fact is that the pharmaceutical sector was one of the first to adopt computer tech and it has no wonder enhanced productivity to a significant extent.
The biggest hurdles that can be found is the variation between wet-dry labs, as the data generation speed differs greatly. There are some pharma firms who have already begun clinical studies to their AI-designed molecules, which has caused a rush for others to also go for AI adoption.
At present, almost all the large pharmaceutical companies have made prominent investments in AI technology, and as a matter of fact, they do have the skills to apply this technology. They have IT professionals who are responsible for keeping the technology and the computers running; however, they do not have the resources to execute novel applications that lean over into chemistry design.
At the same time, there are some who also fear that the use of AI may harm their careers. The fact is that, just like computers, AI has also become very pervasive, and its impact is bound to be transformative.
Roles are going to change as researchers achieve more in less time. That said, many decision-makers have been out of graduate school for years and have not been taught about the usage of AI, which apparently leaves them with a couple of choices: either upskill or keep doing things the way they have been, like the old way.
The interaction of a drug molecule with a biological system requires many in the pharma sector to create sophisticated workflows in which many human experts go on to make critical decisions that happen to be entirely based on costly experimental data. Once AI shows that it has the capacity to solve problems, the entire industry can transform into a completely varied business. For some, it is extremely scary, while for others, it can turn out to be an exciting adventure.
The use of AI opens the doors to new molecules as well as compounds that happen to be hidden in a data sea. Although AI can assist exponentially in this regard, humans are still an essential element when it comes to result verification.
It is very important to gauge how to evaluate the AI models’ results. As the real-world cases happen to be complex, scientists have to get their intuition from the trials. Whether making use of old target discovery or chemical design methods, the significant question is always asked if the targets and chemicals happen to be validated.
It is well to be noted that scientists tend to have more faith in algorithms when they get to understand them better. The ideal way to trust an algorithm is to see the results that have been validated and achieve a good amount of result consistency.
Tech and the logic of the business must work in tandem. The ideal approach lies in taking into account the minor challenges initially so as to build confidence and then taking care of more significant issues later.
So it is better-
- To come up with a standard dictionary of terms.
- Solve smaller issues to gain more credibility.
- and create interdisciplinary teams.
But don’t-
- Create a dedicated AI team with its own KPIs.
- Execute a small concept-proof project to enhance AI technology’s applicability.
- Forget that in the short term, results will be evaluated and validated in traditional ways.
Making use of AI is a significant skill set when it comes to the modern digital world. Although there is a healthy level of scepticism, there are also novel AI drug discoveries that might not have been explored for years or at all.
