{"id":24698,"date":"2021-03-11T10:40:43","date_gmt":"2021-03-11T10:40:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/?p=24698"},"modified":"2021-03-12T14:36:29","modified_gmt":"2021-03-12T14:36:29","slug":"challenges-opportunities-of-ai-in-rd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/es\/challenges-opportunities-of-ai-in-rd\/","title":{"rendered":"The Challenges & Opportunities of AI in R&D"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div><\/div>

Challenges and Opportunities of AI in R&D<\/span><\/h1>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

Bringing a drug to market is a h<\/span>ugely<\/span>\u00a0costly process<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>It<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>is<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>also\u00a0<\/span>becoming\u00a0<\/span>increasingly\u00a0<\/span>lengthier<\/span><\/a>, a<\/span>nd this is<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>a\u00a0<\/span>major challenge for\u00a0<\/span>pharma companies<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>To\u00a0<\/span>stay competitive and meet market demands,\u00a0<\/span>improving<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>the\u00a0<\/span><\/b>efficiency and productivity<\/span><\/b>\u00a0of the<\/span><\/b>ir activities<\/span><\/b>\u00a0is<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>an important priority.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A<\/span>I\u00a0<\/span>and<\/span>\u00a0the\u00a0<\/span>ever-<\/span>increasing\u00a0<\/span>availability of data<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>present opportunities<\/span>\u00a0to<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>do exactly that<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Through technological developments and the aid of intelligent machines, it is believed that companies can boost the capabilities of human scientists and meet the demands of the\u00a0<\/span>competitive\u00a0<\/span>pharmaceutical environment.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While<\/span>\u00a0currently<\/span>\u00a0there i<\/span>s more extensive use<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>of AI in\u00a0<\/span>certain areas of healthcare like imaging,\u00a0<\/span>pharma\u00a0<\/span>leaders<\/span>\u00a0recognise its\u00a0<\/span>huge\u00a0<\/span>potential in R&D.\u00a0<\/span>R<\/span>ecent\u00a0<\/span>r<\/span>esearch by\u00a0<\/span>GlobalData<\/span>\u00a0found<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>that\u00a0<\/span>48%<\/span><\/b>\u00a0of pharma management professionals thought that R&D<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>out\u00a0<\/span>o<\/span>f all the<\/span>\u00a0parts of the<\/span>\u00a0value<\/span>\u00a0chain,\u00a0<\/span>will\u00a0<\/span>experience<\/span>\u00a0the\u00a0<\/span>most benefit<\/span><\/b>\u00a0from digital transformation<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However,\u00a0<\/span>companies must<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>embrace new<\/span><\/b>\u00a0ways of working<\/span><\/b>\u00a0to profit from the many applications of AI<\/span>\u00a0in drug discovery and development.<\/span>\u00a0They must overcome\u00a0<\/span>certain\u00a0<\/span>barriers<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>like data silos and technolog<\/span>ical<\/span>\u00a0expertise<\/span>\u00a0gaps<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0to boost\u00a0<\/span>their preparedness\u00a0<\/span>to<\/span>\u00a0integrate\u00a0<\/span>emergent technologies<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>In this article we will look\u00a0<\/span>at both\u00a0<\/span>the opportunities and challenges<\/span>\u00a0of AI in\u00a0<\/span>R&D.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In terms of opportunities,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>AI could<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>automate<\/span>\u00a0time-consuming processes<\/span>, which c<\/span>ould<\/span>\u00a0save\u00a0<\/span>human scientists\u2019\u00a0<\/span>valuable\u00a0<\/span>time<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Specifically, i<\/span>n the drug discovery stage, machine learning<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>could<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>help<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>identify promising molecules<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>much\u00a0<\/span><\/b>faster<\/span><\/b>.\u00a0<\/span><\/b>While<\/span>\u00a0it might<\/span>\u00a0take a human weeks or months to s<\/span>crutinise<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>data<\/span>\u00a0from past studies,\u00a0<\/span>machine learning\u00a0<\/span>tool<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>could<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>complete analyses in<\/span>\u00a0as little as a few hours.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>This would<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>enhance<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>company\u00a0<\/span>productivity<\/span>\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>reduc<\/span><\/b>e<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>the time for a drug to reach\u00a0<\/span><\/b>and impact\u00a0<\/span><\/b>patients.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

AI\u00a0<\/span>may also help companies to<\/span>\u00a0reduce high candidate failure rates, which amount to a huge cost burden in the drug development cycle.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>C<\/span>urrently,\u00a0<\/span>9\/10<\/span><\/b>\u00a0drugs fail to make it past phase II of clinical trials<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>In the drug screening phase, p<\/span>redictive modelling\u00a0<\/span>cou<\/span>ld<\/span>\u00a0help<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>companies\u00a0<\/span>select\u00a0<\/span><\/b>candidates<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>with<\/span><\/b>\u00a0a high chance of\u00a0<\/span><\/b>passing<\/span><\/b>\u00a0the\u00a0<\/span><\/b>testing\u00a0<\/span><\/b>process<\/span><\/b>\u00a0and receiving\u00a0<\/span>final\u00a0<\/span>approval<\/span>\u00a0from regulators.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Trial recruitment is another\u00a0<\/span>costly\u00a0<\/span>area\u00a0<\/span>in which<\/span>\u00a0AI could bring productivity improvements.\u00a0<\/span>Specifically, f<\/span>inding eligible trial participants is a\u00a0<\/span>significant\u00a0<\/span>challenge for companies<\/span>, and<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Natural Language Processing (NLP)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>c<\/span>ould<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>help companies\u00a0<\/span>by\u00a0<\/span>scan<\/span><\/b>ning<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>doctors\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/b>healthcare reports to find suitable trial participants<\/span><\/b>.\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Additionally, another<\/span>\u00a0NLP tool called<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>DQueST<\/span><\/a>, developed by\u00a0<\/span>Chunhua<\/span>\u00a0Weng and her team, was designed to help patients find trials themselves by converting<\/span>\u00a0trial specifications<\/span>\u00a0into straight forward language, helping to combat accessibility barriers.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When it comes to\u00a0<\/span>key challeng<\/span>e<\/span>s of digitalisation<\/span>, r<\/span>aising<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>skills and\u00a0<\/span><\/b>digital capabilities<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>is\u00a0<\/span><\/b>an<\/span><\/b>\u00a0important priority<\/span><\/b>.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Such is the case that t<\/span>o deliver\u00a0<\/span>scaled<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>solutions<\/span>\u00a0more immediately<\/span>, many\u00a0<\/span>pharma\u00a0<\/span>companies\u00a0<\/span>have<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>looked towards partnerships with biotech companies<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>who\u00a0<\/span>can often<\/span>\u00a0offer<\/span>\u00a0advanced digital expertise.\u00a0<\/span>However,\u00a0<\/span>It i<\/span>s not just about acquiring\u00a0<\/span>hard<\/span>\u00a0skills<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0S<\/span>ome<\/span>\u00a0believe industry and organisational<\/span>\u00a0c<\/span>ultural\u00a0<\/span>shifts<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>are needed<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>as well.\u00a0<\/span>Jackie Hunter, CEO<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>of\u00a0<\/span>BenevolentBio<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>a developer of AI for use in drug discovery,\u00a0<\/span>said<\/span>:<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span><\/i>The challenges are cultural and social, not just technological. Biologists must be open to the value that machine learning and data crunching can bring to their\u00a0<\/span><\/i>endeavour<\/span><\/i>..<\/span><\/i>.Big pharma needs to embed a more data-driven approach across all departments…to really benefit from what computing power and data analytics can bring to drug R&D.<\/span><\/i>\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Other\u00a0<\/span>barrier<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0to digital transformation<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>are<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>data and organisational silos<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>In an\u00a0<\/span>OpenText survey in 2020<\/span><\/b><\/a>,<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>35%<\/span><\/b>\u00a0of<\/span>\u00a0pharma<\/span>\u00a0executives said that silos were an\u00a0<\/span>issue<\/span>\u00a0for them,<\/span>\u00a0and they were still\u00a0<\/span>working\u00a0<\/span>largely on<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>paper-based<\/span>\u00a0systems.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Thus,\u00a0<\/span>t<\/span><\/b>ransition<\/span><\/b>ing<\/span><\/b>\u00a0to digital systems\u00a0<\/span><\/b>will be essential\u00a0<\/span>in enabling<\/span>\u00a0companies to\u00a0<\/span>utilise<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the opportunities of AI.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To conclude, e<\/span>mbracing AI and digital disruption\u00a0<\/span>in pharma\u00a0<\/span>may\u00a0<\/span>require change across many\u00a0<\/span>area<\/span>s<\/span>, from<\/span>\u00a0skills<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>to mindset<\/span><\/b>\u00a0to<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>organisation structure.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>If companies\u00a0<\/span>measure\u00a0<\/span><\/b>their current\u00a0<\/span><\/b>stage of digitalisation<\/span><\/b>, they can\u00a0<\/span>assess\u00a0<\/span>at what point they are at in their evolution. This will allow them to\u00a0<\/span>set goals and<\/span><\/b>\u00a0implement strategies<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>to help\u00a0<\/span>boost their chances of success<\/span>\u00a0in the challenges ahead.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

References:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Pharma Industry in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: The Future is Bright, May 2020,\u00a0<\/span>Iolanda<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Bulgaru<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>Healthcare Weekly.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. An AI boost for clinical trials, September 2019, Marcus Woo, <\/span>Nature.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Keeping It Real: Challenges And Benefits Of Integrating AI And Machine Learning Into Pharma R&D, January 2020, Tom O\u2019Leary, <\/span>BioITWorld<\/span>.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u00a0<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Bringing a drug to market is a hugely\u00a0costly process.\u00a0It\u00a0is\u00a0also\u00a0becoming\u00a0increasingly\u00a0lengthier, and this is\u00a0a\u00a0major challenge for\u00a0pharma companies.\u00a0To\u00a0stay competitive and meet market demands,\u00a0improving\u00a0the\u00a0efficiency and productivity\u00a0of their activities\u00a0is\u00a0an important priority.\u00a0 AI\u00a0and\u00a0the\u00a0ever-increasing\u00a0availability of data\u00a0present opportunities\u00a0to\u00a0do exactly that.\u00a0Through technological developments and the aid of intelligent machines, it is believed that companies can boost the capabilities of human scientists and meet the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":24699,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","myguten_meta_block_field":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24698"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24698\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24713,"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24698\/revisions\/24713"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}