CAMBRIDGE – AstraZeneca and BenevolentAI, leading innovators in healthcare and artificial intelligence (AI) respectively, have joined forces in a landmark partnership aimed at accelerating drug discovery processes, according to a press release published on EuropaWire.
Harnessing the power of advanced AI and machine learning, the collaboration seeks to unlock new treatments for chronic kidney disease (CKD) and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), two debilitating conditions that currently lack effective therapies.
By integrating AstraZeneca’s extensive genomics, chemistry, and clinical data with BenevolentAI’s cutting-edge target identification platform and biomedical knowledge graph, the partnership aims to revolutionize the understanding of complex disease biology.
Mene Pangalos, Executive Vice President and President BioPharmaceuticals R&D at AstraZeneca, highlighted the transformative potential of the collaboration, stating, “By combining AstraZeneca’s disease area expertise and large, diverse datasets with BenevolentAI’s leading AI and machine learning capabilities, we can unlock the potential of this wealth of data to improve our understanding of complex disease biology and identify new targets that could treat debilitating diseases.”
Joanna Shields, CEO of BenevolentAI, echoed Pangalos’s sentiments, emphasizing the urgent need for innovative solutions in drug discovery, particularly for diseases with unmet medical needs. Shields remarked, “Millions of people today suffer from diseases that have no effective treatment. The future of drug discovery and development lies in bridging the gap between AI, data, and biology.”
Central to the collaboration is the deployment of machine learning capabilities to systematically analyze vast datasets, identifying intricate connections between biological factors and disease pathophysiology. Through AI-driven reasoning, previously unknown insights into disease mechanisms are expected to emerge, paving the way for novel therapeutic interventions.
Chronic kidney disease and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis pose significant challenges due to the complexity of their underlying biology. By leveraging AI technologies to interrogate rich datasets, AstraZeneca and BenevolentAI aim to unravel the intricacies of these diseases and expedite the identification of promising drug targets.
This groundbreaking collaboration marks a pivotal moment in the convergence of healthcare and AI, offering hope for patients grappling with devastating conditions and underscoring the transformative potential of data-driven approaches in drug discovery.
