THINK TANK: AI’s impact on Pharma
What Implementations of AI Have Most Impacted Pharma and Will Impact Pharma in the Future?
The world is constantly changing. Every year there is new technology being developed and introduced to the world to make everyday tasks simpler, quicker, and easier. More specifically, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has made its way into our everyday lives via navigation, facial recognition, and e-payments. It was only a matter of time before pharmaceutical companies took advantage of this new technology. We are seeing it used on patient profiles to help speed up diagnosis, to accelerate electronic medical records, and connect a network of medical providers to work together and figure out answers to cases all over the world in a fraction of the time. As with any new change, there is excitement and concern. PM360 reached out to twelve specialists for their view on what the future holds with the introduction of AI into pharma. We asked:
What implementations of AI are having the greatest impact on pharma now and in the near future? What AI solution in the pipeline are you most excited about?
What is key to keep in mind when preparing to adopt an AI solution into your company or workflow? What challenges do you see rising as AI becomes more prevalent in the pharmaceutical industry?
The opinions expressed by the authors in the Think Tank section are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of their affiliated companies or organizations.
Andrew Bast, Chief Strategy Officer of Greater Than One – A revolution in pharmaceuticals brought on by AI is underway. Most of the conversation focuses on AI’s transformative ability in drug discovery. A study published last June in MDPI’s journal Pharmaceutics mentions the speed, efficiencies, and cost savings that can be realized using AI in the R&D process. This approach is already paying off, with Insilico Medicines generally recognized as bringing the first AI-developed drug into Phase II clinical trials. However, the greatest impact of AI is yet to come.
Much has been justifiably made of how AI is contributing to drug discovery, but discovery is merely the first step. AI-fueled drug discovery doesn’t have much value if it doesn’t incorporate the human factor. Determining who will benefit most from the discovery, finding them quickly and efficiently, and then activating and convincing these patients to start and stay on this treatment is where AI’s impact is just beginning. This impact on improving human health has the potential to be even more transformative than anything before.
At extremes, some reduce the AI conversation to buzz-worthy, clickbait pitch phrases, unfortunately (today’s equivalent of what digital and social experienced in years past). Equally unfortunate, many view AI as an existential threat to their craft choosing to denigrate or dismiss it instead of embracing it to elevate their skillset. Here at GTO, we use AI as part of our Living Ideas approach where ideas grow and evolve when they are put into the hands of customers. Incorporating insights, beliefs and behaviors, performance benchmarks, and purchase/utilization data, AI is not just predicting how customers may respond, but prescribing solutions to best encourage the right response and behavior. Whether disease is rare or chronic, acute or episodic, how we as humans deal with our afflictions is as important as the treatments used to resolve them. As an industry, we need to lean into AI there as well—to the benefit of all.
This excerpt originally appeared as part of the Think Tank: AI’s Impact on Pharma article on PM360. To read the rest of the article click the following link: Think Tank article.
