Pharma companies tie up with AI firms to advance drug discovery

Big pharma companies are partnering with artificial intelligence firms to improve key aspects of the healthcare industry such as drug discovery, which will ultimately save time and reduce research and development costs, a report from UK-based data analytics consultancy firm Global Data showed. For several pharma companies, machine learning is the most important aspect of AI, which has the potential to allow machines to surpass human intelligence levels, the report added. Increasing investments in AI for drug discovery allow big pharma firms to apply machine learning to identify and screen potential drug candidates, it explained. "The success of AI in drug discovery is largely due to deep learning, a field of machine learning that is built using artificial neural networks that model the way neurons in the human brain talk to each other. This technology can train systems to analyze large sets of chemical and biological data to identify drug candidates with high success rates much faster than humans," Alexandra Annis, senior immunology analyst at Global Data, said.