AI is now deeply interwoven with pharmaceutical drug discovery. While AI is making significant leaps in finding new solutions for life-changing medicines, ensuring the process is safeguarded with security standards remains paramount.
AI for drug discovery ramping up: AI is becoming synonymous with drug discovery but experts warn it’s not always understood:
"There are many AI for drug discovery companies, but when we look at those projects, having spent many years within [the industry] sometimes they seem a bit naïve," says Garri Zmudze, managing partner at LongeVC. "There are also strong big players, and from my perspective, that's the future of new drug development. It's already here."
LongeVC is an international venture capital firm investing in exceptional early-stage founders with a mission to bring breakthrough biotech to market. By focusing on longevity and biomedical advancements, LongeVC seeks to back companies that not only innovate but also demonstrate industry traction:
"With AI and drug discovery, you look at two things: whether they have gained traction with the industry and whether they have their own pipeline. You don't look at companies that just sell drug discovery services to Big Pharma. That doesn't work and has proven to be a faulty strategy. If you have something unique, you will have your own assets and want to develop them yourself," added Sergey Jakimov, also a managing partner at LongeVC.
Initial success: Within LongeVC’s portfolio is one of the pioneers in AI-driven drug discovery, Insilico Medicine. The company currently has two drugs in Phase 2B trials, positioning itself as a leader in the age-related and longevity sector.
"Insilico is the first to enter phase two clinical trials with an AI-created asset. This is the first molecule to pass into human efficacy studies, with good initial data already announced. It's a pretty big deal," noted Zmudze.
