HospiMedica

Download Mobile App
Recent News AI Critical Care Surgical Techniques Patient Care Health IT Point of Care Business Focus

AI Vital For Rapid Identification of Drugs That Can Be Repurposed To Combat COVID-19, Says New Report

By HospiMedica International staff writers
Posted on 21 Aug 2020
Print article
Illustration
Illustration
Artificial intelligence (AI) offers significant promise for biopharmaceutical companies to speed up the drug repurposing process for finding new therapies to treat COVID-19, according to a new report.

The COVID-19 Executive Briefing report by GlobalData (London, UK; www.globaldata.com), a research, consulting and events firm, states that drug repurposing is among the fastest and safest methods to seek new therapies for the treatment of COVID-19, as the drugs are already being used for treating various existing conditions, thus reducing the possibility of adverse reactions. AI technologies are expected to play a significant role in allowing biopharmaceutical companies to shorten the time required for pre-clinical drug identification and design process.

The Innovation Explorer database of GlobalData’s Disruptor Intelligence Center has revealed how AI startups are helping identify suitable molecules that target COVID-19. For instance, BenevolentAI, a startup, is using its AI-based drug discovery platform to identify drugs that have the potential to disrupt selected viral entry pathways of COVID-19, thereby preventing the virus from replicating. Another startup Elix has harnessed various neural networks in order to predict the chemical properties of molecules with the capacity to neutralize COVID-19. Similarly, Gero, a startup, has leveraged AI to rapidly screen existing drug molecules for the treatment of COVID-19. Additionally, other startups such as Repurpose.AI and Atomwise are entering into partnerships with global research institutes to utilize their AI-powered predictive models for locating new drug molecules for the treatment of COVID-19.

“Typically developing a new drug takes almost a decade and costs anywhere between $2 billion to USD 3 billion,” said Venkata Naveen, Senior Disruptive Tech Analyst at GlobalData. “But now biopharmaceutical companies are in dire need to accelerate the entire drug development process given that COVID-19 cases and deaths are mounting every day. Under these circumstances, AI technologies allow companies to significantly shorten the pre-clinical drug identification and design process from several years to a few days or months.”

Related Links:

GlobalData

Gold Member
Disposable Protective Suit For Medical Use
Disposable Protective Suit For Medical Use
Gold Member
STI Test
Vivalytic Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) Array
Silver Member
Wireless Mobile ECG Recorder
NR-1207-3/NR-1207-E
New
1.5T MRI System
uMR 670

Print article

Channels

Critical Care

view channel
Image: The new risk assessment tool determines patient-specific risks of developing unfavorable outcomes with heart failure (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

Powerful AI Risk Assessment Tool Predicts Outcomes in Heart Failure Patients

Heart failure is a serious condition where the heart cannot pump sufficient blood to meet the body's needs, leading to symptoms like fatigue, weakness, and swelling in the legs and feet, and it can ultimately... Read more

Surgical Techniques

view channel
Image: The Nami S miniaturized ultrasonic scalpel enables faster and safer RAS (Photo courtesy of Nami Surgical)

Miniaturized Ultrasonic Scalpel Enables Faster and Safer Robotic-Assisted Surgery

Robot-assisted surgery (RAS) has gained significant popularity in recent years and is now extensively used across various surgical fields such as urology, gynecology, and cardiology. These surgeries, performed... Read more

Patient Care

view channel
Image: The portable, handheld BeamClean technology inactivates pathogens on commonly touched surfaces in seconds (Photo courtesy of Freestyle Partners)

First-Of-Its-Kind Portable Germicidal Light Technology Disinfects High-Touch Clinical Surfaces in Seconds

Reducing healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) remains a pressing issue within global healthcare systems. In the United States alone, 1.7 million patients contract HAIs annually, leading to approximately... Read more

Health IT

view channel
Image: First ever institution-specific model provides significant performance advantage over current population-derived models (Photo courtesy of Mount Sinai)

Machine Learning Model Improves Mortality Risk Prediction for Cardiac Surgery Patients

Machine learning algorithms have been deployed to create predictive models in various medical fields, with some demonstrating improved outcomes compared to their standard-of-care counterparts.... Read more

Point of Care

view channel
Image: The Quantra Hemostasis System has received US FDA special 510(k) clearance for use with its Quantra QStat Cartridge (Photo courtesy of HemoSonics)

Critical Bleeding Management System to Help Hospitals Further Standardize Viscoelastic Testing

Surgical procedures are often accompanied by significant blood loss and the subsequent high likelihood of the need for allogeneic blood transfusions. These transfusions, while critical, are linked to various... Read more