AI is revolutionizing drug discovery, fueling debates on data ownership.

TLDR:

Key Points:

• The Pacific Northwest is fostering a culture of collaboration in AI-driven drug discovery and development.
• AI is being used to shorten the clinical development of therapeutic proteins and predict biological properties of computationally-designed therapeutics.

Article Summary:

AI innovation in drug discovery and development is thriving in the Pacific Northwest, with a focus on collaboration and sharing of data. The Institute for Protein Design (IPD) at the University of Washington is at the forefront of connecting AI with biotech, generating open-source tools for protein-based therapeutics. Companies like Microsoft and Bristol Myers Squibb are using AI to speed up drug development processes and conduct virtual clinical trials. The region is also seeing advancements in generating, standardizing, and sharing biological data, with efforts like “pre-competitive” consortiums and the Seattle-based OpenFold consortium. However, the issue of proprietary data and its role in AI-driven drug discovery models remains a topic of debate. Panelists emphasized the importance of finding a balance between proprietary data and data sharing to foster innovation and new business models. The unique asset of publicly-funded universities creating platform models for AI-driven drug development was highlighted as a significant advantage for the region and the industry as a whole.