Integrating artificial intelligence into the pharmaceutical industry

The latest research shows that 87% of pharmaceutical industry leaders believe that artificial intelligence is crucial. To some extent, machine learning is not a new thing. The pharmaceutical industry has been using data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence in some form for at least 25 years, but the situation has changed as technology shifts from niche to mainstream.

Firstly, a recent report titled 'Reshaping Research and Development in the Age of Artificial Intelligence' emphasizes the enormous potential and significant challenges of integrating artificial intelligence and machine learning into pharmaceutical research and development. According to the report, companies that successfully utilize artificial intelligence can bring new drugs to market four years earlier than other companies, while reducing development costs by 35-45%. This does not mean that biopharmaceutical companies need to strive desperately, even if the clinical success rate increases by 1%, it means saving hundreds of millions of dollars. However, despite the enormous potential, implementing artificial intelligence itself is not a simple plug and play solution. This new reality requires a new type of talent who is proficient in both scientific language and artificial intelligence language.

Secondly, the so-called bilinguals refer to individuals who can speak both the domain language and the technical language. This transformation is reshaping the skills required for the industry, requiring a new generation of professionals who can bridge the gap between science and technology. Merely becoming a medicinal chemist is no longer enough, one needs to understand concepts such as computational science and chemistry, including molecular language models.

On the other hand, computer scientists involved in the biopharmaceutical field must master the complexity of molecular biology and how to apply their algorithms to solve practical problems in drug discovery. This integration has changed education, as universities are no longer limited to individual disciplines, but have opened up new paths by offering interdisciplinary degrees in computational chemistry, bioinformatics, and chemical informatics. These courses equip graduates with the skills necessary to thrive in an AI driven research and development environment. The evolution of talent and skills highlights the profound changes brought by artificial intelligence to pharmaceutical research and development, which is expected to accelerate innovation while requiring new professional knowledge.

This fusion has been reflected in the academic community, with universities such as Stanford and Cambridge breaking down traditional barriers and offering interdisciplinary degrees in computational chemistry and bioinformatics. Stanford University's Biomedical Informatics program integrates computer science, biology, and medicine, while Cambridge University offers Master's degrees in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology. These courses typically integrate elements of computer science, biology, chemistry, and mathematics, and are cultivating a new generation of scientists to tackle the complexity of AI driven drug discovery. MIT is providing specialized machine learning courses for drug discovery and development, directly addressing the intersection of artificial intelligence and drug research. The evolution of talent and skills highlights the profound changes that artificial intelligence has brought to drug development, which are already evident at the forefront of research. Artificial intelligence has not only changed the work content of scientists, but also their way of working.

In addition, scientists have revolutionized ultraviolet sensing using intelligent technology and developed a flexible and reusable optical fiber for ultraviolet detection, which is expected to enhance integration with smart devices and advance ultraviolet monitoring technology. Although ultraviolet radiation is crucial for the production of vitamin D, showing good effects in phototherapy and playing a role in various industrial processes and plant growth, it also has harmful effects such as premature skin aging and cancer. However, existing ultraviolet optical sensing technologies rely on materials with limited flexibility or expensive and fragile scientific grade equipment. To bridge this gap, researchers led by professors from the Canadian Institute of Advanced Technology have utilized intelligent technology to manufacture a new rubber like optical fiber for ultraviolet detection.

Overall, the integration of artificial intelligence has not only changed the way scientists work, but also the way they interact with technology. Trained through structured and unstructured inputs. This technology has expanded human intelligence in an unprecedented way.