Farmaindustria highlights the ‘paradigm shift’ of AI in biomedical research
The head of Innovation and director of Innovation at Farmaindustria, Miguel González, highlighted how Artificial Intelligence (AI) has brought about a paradigm shift and a revolution in biomedical research.
González made these statements during the dialogue ‘Contribution of AI to social projects’, organised by Servimedia. González was joined by Jesús Herrero, General Director of Red.es; Carlos Arango, General Director of the Spanish Association of Sustainability Managers; Miguel Ángel Ruiz, Head of Brand Strategy&Innovation at Samsung Electronics Iberia; and Sofía Bergareche, manager of the Responsible AI initiative at Forética.
At the event, it was commented that AI has transformed the way researchers work. ‘Before, companies went to the sea, took samples, trapped the molecule and saw if it was useful for something. Now it’s the other way around and what you do is ask the AI for a molecule that fits with this other molecule that is causing a disease,’ he said.
Proof of this is that the 140 pharmaceutical companies that make up Farmaindustria already use artificial intelligence. ‘The entire drug value chain uses AI,’ said González, who pointed out that according to the latest World Economic Forum report, the biomedical industry will be the first to receive a significant boost thanks to this disruptive technology.
This technology, although according to the head of Farmaindustria it is still in its embryonic stage, is already generating drugs in the approval phase. ‘The FDA (American Drug Agency) already has a drug discovered by AI on the table,’ he said.
RARE DISEASES
He also explained that this technology is going to be an amazing breakthrough in the treatment of rare diseases. ‘With rare diseases we have 150 authorised drugs in Europe,’ he said, pointing out that the “big problem” with rare diseases is the lack of patients, which prevents clinical studies that give representative results.
This, in his opinion, will change with the adoption of the European Data Space, which is expected to come into operation in 2029. ‘We are going to have all the medical data of Europeans pseudo-anonymised so that we can make progress in biomedical research,’ said González, who called for the promotion of a culture of data donation, similar to the culture of organ donation in which Spain is a pioneer.
In addition, this technology will shorten biomedical research timeframes, which will reduce drug approval processes. ‘Finding a test group for drugs can take two years. That, in many diseases, means death, so I firmly believe that AI is going to help increase the life expectancy of Spaniards,’ he said.
Asked how Artificial Intelligence can help in the treatment of diseases such as Amyotrophic Lateral Disease (ALS), he argued that this technology will revolutionise both the knowledge of the origin of this disease and its treatment. ‘The case of ALS is curious because it does not progress in the same way in all patients. AI, thanks to its power to collect data, will give us the weapons to recognise the factors that will allow us to move towards better treatment and delay the worst symptoms.
SPAIN, A LEADER IN EUROPE
Spain will also play a leading role in the development of this technology. ‘At Farmaindustria, we estimate that we invest around 1.5 billion in R&D per year, around half of which is in collaboration with public entities,’ said González, which places Spain at the forefront of this issue in Europe.
In addition, he assured that this spirit is transferred to the whole chain and that small start-ups are developing virtual solutions with enormous potential’. There is an application of a virtual nurse that detects a problem and contacts the primary care doctor, which can be used to prevent diseases such as heart attacks, strokes or to help a person with a mental health problem’, he said.
Finally, he stressed that this technology will have an impact on the entire biomedical research ecosystem, beyond the big pharmaceutical companies. ‘You have to understand that research has many layers, they all end up touching and they are all important,’ said the head of Farmaindustria.
