As AI technology has become more popular in the healthcare and science industry, the sector is greatly benefiting from it. This is especially true regarding drug discovery which is an important industry.
With a number of diseases, both recognized and unrecognized, posing a global risk, it has never been more crucial for the drug discovery industry to utilize technological aid to develop and improve.
According to recent studies, 1.4 billion people will be over 60 by 2030, meaning there will be far more people who are vulnerable to disease and suffer from ill health.
Add in the fact that drug discovery is already exponentially expensive, with an estimated $1.5 billion expenses going into the development of therapies, 90% of which fail between trials and approval. The use of technology is essential to improve the process and make drug discovery more efficient and achievable in the future.
Why Is Drug Discovery So Expensive?
As mentioned previously, it costs billions of dollars to get a new drug on the market. This is mainly due to the complexity of the process, starting with the initial research, testing, development, and then the trial phases and approval.
Additionally, developing the medicine to be ready for mass production adds even more to the costs. A more cost-efficient drug discovery cycle can significantly reduce the high cost of prescription drugs entering the market, allowing drug companies to sell products at an affordable price rather than raising their costs to recoup the investment.
How Can Drug Discovery Be Improved?
The most crucial way in which drug discovery is being improved is through technology. To give an example, Cerella, which is a new AI drug development software, is enabling a number of global pharma and biotech companies to improve the speed and efficiency of their drug discovery cycles. This is thanks to Cerella’s novel AI and deep learning methods, which help fill in data gaps and highlight high-quality compounds for further investigation.
By employing drug discovery software such as this, scientists are able to make significant improvements to their project workflows and find hidden opportunities caused by missing or inaccurate data.
Pharmaceutical companies are using this software to support their research and development teams, confident that they are starting from a stronger position when it comes to developing new drugs and securing approval for them further down the road.
What Are The Other Reasons Drug Discovery Is A Priority?
When looking at the process from beginning to end, on average, it can take a total of 12 years for a new drug to reach potential customers. Usually, the first five years are for finding the right molecule combination. The remaining time is for testing, refinement, and approval. Some drugs don’t even reach the market. When that happens, it usually means years of work lost. With a better drug discovery process, companies won’t have to waste the years they are researching.
Another primary reason for improving the drug discovery cycle is the fact that diseases change too. Viral infections resist various drug treatments when encountering widespread use and, under the current system, the evolution process can be faster than new medicines.
Without AI software, our ability to treat novel diseases will be severely impaired. Shorter and improved drug discoveries have the potential to improve the lives of millions of people.
Of course, in terms of healthcare and medicine, it is essential that new drugs not only come into the market but arrive in a cost-effective, efficient manner that benefits everyone.
Fortunately, the world’s best minds are already figuring out ways to make the entire process smoother and simpler in the development of new medicines. With the right approach, the pharmaceutical industry and the world are benefitting, and they will undoubtedly improve even further in the future.
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