Artificial intelligence is reducing costs in drug development, which lowers the entry barrier for pharmaceutical startups. This was stated by Kirill Kaem, a member of the Academic Council of the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, at the Future Technologies Forum taking place in Moscow.
The use of AI at all stages—from molecule discovery to clinical trials—reduces the overall cost of a project. This makes entering the business more accessible for investors even in a limited market, the expert believes.
According to him, there are currently two main groups of teams using AI in Russian pharma: one is engaged in drug discovery, the other in clinical trials. At the drug discovery stage, AI is used for target identification, analysis of biological pathways, screening existing molecules, creating new compounds, and predicting toxicity. This helps narrow the candidate selection funnel and increase the efficiency of early development stages.
Kaem also emphasized that investor interest in pharmaceutical projects is determined by market capacity and effective demand from the healthcare system. At the same time, it is easier for companies creating AI tools for pharma to enter the market than for direct drug developers.
Despite billions in investments by pharmaceutical companies in AI, there is still no drug developed with its help. Artificial intelligence has not yet managed to solve the most difficult task in drug development—the search for new molecules—but it is already simplifying the routine parts of the process.