Google Cloud rolls out A.I.-powered tools to speed up drug discovery, precision medicine & more

Image credit : California Life Sciences Tuesday saw the release of two new AI-powered tools from Google Cloud that are meant to aid biotech and pharmaceutical firms in accelerating drug discovery and advancing precision medicine. One instrument, the Target and Lead Identification Suite, is made to assist businesses in foreseeing and comprehending protein structure, a crucial aspect of drug research. The Multiomics Suite is one more tool that will assist researchers in ingesting, storing, analyzing, and sharing vast volumes of genetic data. The new breakthroughs represent Google's most recent development in the fierce AI arms race, in which tech giants are vying for supremacy in an industry that analysts predict might one day be worth trillions of dollars. Since OpenAI's ChatGPT was made available to the general public late last year, the company has been under pressure to demonstrate its generative artificial intelligence capabilities. In February, Google made Bard, a generative chatbot, public. Following Google's announcement of many AI developments at its annual developer conference, Alphabet's stock price increased 4.3% last week. The two new Google Cloud suites contribute to resolving a long-standing problem in the biopharma sector: the expensive and time-consuming process of introducing a new drug to the American market. [caption id="attachment_171144" align="aligncenter" width="2500"] Image credit : Google Cloud Blog[/caption] According to a recent Deloitte analysis, pharmaceutical corporations can spend anywhere from a few hundred million dollars and over $2 billion to launch a single medicine. They don't always succeed in their endeavors. Another Deloitte analysis states that the likelihood of a medicine being approved in the U.S. once it has completed clinical trials is 16%. The lengthy and tiresome research procedure, which normally takes between 10 and 15 years, goes hand in hand with the high cost and dismal success rate. According to Shweta Maniar, global director of life sciences strategy and solutions at Google Cloud, the new suites will help businesses save a "statistically significant" sum of time and money during the drug development process. Google did not give CNBC any precise numbers. Also read : This fake iPhone found in a drug dealer’s possession is actually a gun “We’re helping organizations get medicines to the right people faster,” Maniar told CNBC in an interview. “I am personally very excited, this is something that myself and the team have been working on for a few years now.” Customers can now access both suites widely as of Tuesday. According to Google, the price depends on the business. The goods have previously been used by a number of companies, including Pfizer from Big Pharma and the biotech firms Cerevel Therapeutics and Colossal Biosciences.