From left: Mohd Nazlee Kamal, Prof Lee, Prof Chee and Mranti head of life sciences, Dr Hazwan Mohd Daut discuss the role of AI in enhancing drug development. — ART CHEN/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: Artificial intelligence (AI) could play a key role in improving drug and vaccine development, according to a panel of experts.
Prof Dr Chee Onn Leong, founder and CEO of AGTC Genomics, said AI has the potential to substantially improve the success rates of new drug development compared to traditional methods.
"AI will help us to accelerate this process and, to a certain extent, to simulate the (effects and efficacy of) drugs before they enter into preclinical and postclinical studies," he said.
This approach could reduce risks by enabling researchers to better assess drug efficacy and minimise the likelihood of toxicity in human clinical trials, according to Prof Chee, one of the panellists on the second day of the I-Nation Global Summit 2024.
The annual summit is the Malaysian Research Accelerator for Technology and Innovation’s (Mranti) flagship event aimed at fostering innovation, collaboration, and impactful socio-economic change.
Another panellist for the “Artificial Intelligence and Drug Discovery: A Game Changer?” session, Prof Dr Vannajan Lee, head of the Quantum Information Science and Technology Centre of Excellence at Universiti Malaya, highlighted that AI advancements could contribute greatly to cancer research.
She adds that such simulations can even account for the pH value – a measurement for acidity or alkalinity – and temperature in the human body, allowing for more precise predictions of treatments under various conditions.
Datuk Dr Mohd Nazlee Kamal, CEO of Solution Group Bhd, said AI could help shorten the approval time for new drugs.
"When we submit a dossier for regulatory approval, they will say it takes 18 months for approval, and to us, 18 months is a very long time,” he said, adding that this is likely due to the need to vet thousands of documents and ensure that they pose no risks to the public.
He added that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is making inroads in using AI for the evaluation of biologics and drugs, noting that AI will be particularly helpful in new areas such as cell and gene therapy.
Earlier in the day, Capital A CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes' opening keynote touched on the topic of sustainability, with an emphasis on reconsidering what can make a real difference.
Fernandes touched on entrepreneurship, sustainability, and climate change during his opening keynote. — ART CHEN/The Star
"Electric cars are great, but where does the power come from? If you're getting electricity from a coal power plant, that's a problem, right? Sustainability is important, but I think governments really need to think about what makes a difference and not just blindly follow the West," he said.
Fernandes added that climate change and extreme weather are real problems that need to be addressed.
"Sustainability is not just about carbon emissions. We've got to protect our environment," he said.
