Drug research turns to artificial intelligence in COVID-19 fight

Variational AI Inc.'s bread and butter rests in novel drug discovery, specifically using artificial intelligence (AI) to compress the years-long preclinical process to perhaps a single year. But in the midst of a pandemic, even a year might be too long to find a treatment for COVID-19, according to CEO Handol Kim. "Even if we're able to collapse the front end, you still have five or six years of clinical trials and who knows if we need a drug in five or six years for COVID-19?" he said. "We thought, 'Well, the fastest way to do this is repurposing existing drugs.'" The pitch caught the interest of the Digital Technology Supercluster, which last month committed to spending $60 million of its $153 million budget to develop partnerships across its networks to address issues brought on by the pandemic.