Many of the drugs are small-molecule chemicals, and finding that correct molecule is a lengthy process that costs around $2.8 billion on average. These small molecules often bind to proteins through specific configurations and bonds. Identifying that exact molecule with perfect configuration and bonding property from a pool of millions of compounds is something AI can do much faster and better than humans. That’s why it can reduce the cost of development by as much as up to 70% (3).

So where is the future taking us? Well, we might see more and more pharma companies power their R&D with AI. This means the drug development process will be faster and faster – with strong competition, resulting in even more drugs available for patients. Perhaps one day, we might see a fully autonomous robot in the lab doing all the research that humans are doing now. Work for this has already started and one good example is the Adam, a robot scientist who performs experiments on yeast and analyzes the result (4). So, stay tuned for the next level of drug discovery!