The Future of Medicine? Google to Launch Human Trials for First AI Drug

In what could decide the future of medical science, Google's AI-based drug discovery company has said it will soon launch human trials for drugs designed using artificial intelligence. Isomorphic Labs, a subsidiary of Google DeepMind, has collaborated on the development of drugs using its AlphaFold AI tool, which received acclaim for enhancing the ability to predict protein structures and their ability to bind with other molecules as part of the drug development process.

While Isomorphic Labs has not specified when exactly the trials will begin, it has stressed that these, if successful, could unlock new ways of developing life-saving drugs at lower costs. Fortune has cited Isomorphic Labs’ president, Colin Murdoch, to say that the company’s AI drugs are anticipated to increase the odds of success in drug development, thanks to the DeepMind subsidiary’s breakthrough AlphaFold technology, which can predict the 3D protein structures.

The company says this technology can help speed up the development of drugs for chronic diseases like cancer. Additionally, the protein structures built using AlphaFold can also offer insights into immunology, an area medical experts believe is in dire need of practical innovations. AlphaFold will be studied further and implemented in developing drugs as part of Isomorphic Labs’ partnership with pharmaceutical firms such as Novartis and Eli Lilly.

Why AI drugs are a significant development

Unlike conventional drug development processes, AI-based drugs are more accurate in their protein structures. These structures can be modified to target particular cells of diseases like cancer and ensure better efficacy than regular drugs. Novel approaches can help doctors, scientists, and medical experts tackle intractable diseases better than ever. Researchers believe AI drugs can be developed at dramatically faster rates and in less time, saving companies billions of dollars. Traditional drugs take more than a decade to come through.

With human trials imminent, the company is looking for candidates who have undergone preclinical tests previously to participate in the trials. The outcome of these trials will decide whether AI can contribute to medicine in the real world, but a commercial launch will require regulatory approvals. However, the ethical concerns around AI and its implications in an area as sensitive as health could be a challenge for Isomorphic Labs to advocate for the release of AI drugs.

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