Medical technology innovator Algorae Pharmaceuticals (ASX: 1AI) has identified 24 different existing drug combinations put together by a “super-computer” using artificial intelligence that it says could potentially impact some cancers.
Algorae’s AI model has been fed with a multitude of data from existing known drugs with either expired patents or no patents. That data was then combined with data on “cannabidiol”, a product derived from medicinal cannabis.
The AI engine then churned through multiple combinations of cannabidiol with different available drugs to create a theoretical set of pairings that the AI model says could potentially have a heightened impact on some cancers.
The results have significantly expanded the company’s therapeutic pipeline, particularly in the field of oncology.
AlgoraeOS was launched just two months ago and is the only platform of its kind in Australia. The AI platform was developed in collaboration with the University of NSW AI Institute, supported by funding from CSIRO’s Data61 unit.
The AI model initially identified 46 potential drug combinations, which the company has since whittled down to 24 that it will look to progress to preclinical evaluation.
The company particularly directed AlgoraeOS to focus on diseases with critical treatment gaps, including breast cancer, lung cancer, leukemia and glioblastoma, a common and aggressive brain cancer.
Laboratory tests will first check to ensure the drug combinations are safe and effective before either being passed on to Algorae’s in-house development team or farmed out in partnership with other pharmaceutical companies.
Algorae Pharmaceuticals is now in discussions with Australian-based laboratories to start the precursor studies of the new drug combinations.
This significant expansion highlights the important competitive advantage of AI to predict new therapeutic entities ahead of our competitors relying on conventional approaches. Targets that show promise in laboratory studies will either be developed internally or earmarked for potential development with a partner. Algorae Pharmaceuticals executive chairman David Hainsworth
AlgoraeOS is a cutting-edge AI system that uses complex algorithms and machine-learning models to predict new combinations of existing drugs that, when put together, could have an even greater impact on a disease than they would if applied individually.
The entire process is being run off Australia’s “GADI” super-computer, operated by National Computational Infrastructure, which has also been used for climate modelling and nature disaster prediction.
GADI can rapidly process huge scientific and medical datasets, which can then uncover new fixed-dose drug combinations that could improve therapeutic outcomes, reduce side effects and potentially lead to novel drug applications.
Building on the success of version 1, Algorae is actively developing version 2.0 of AlgoraeOS. It says the next model is likely to include bigger pharmaceutical databases, more powerful predictive AI modelling and an expanded range of disease targets. The second version will also not be limited to including cannabidiol as one of the drugs in each combination.
Earlier in the year, the company proved the value of using AI to reveal new drug combinations when it made a significant breakthrough in pre-clinical testing aimed at treating dementia.
By combining the long-term front-line drug treatment Donepezil with cannabidiol, the company showed the pairing significantly improved patient outcomes by increasing cell survival rates from 17 per cent to more than 50 per cent.
Algorae is quickly making a name for itself in the AI-driven drug development sector, tackling big healthcare challenges.
Whilst some are wary about the dangers associated with AI, particularly in the military sector, others hail it as a revolution. Algorae’s use of a super-computer and artificial intelligence to create ideas about drug combinations that could eventually cure some of the worst ailments of our time is ground-breaking and represents the very best that AI has to offer.
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