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Review
. 2021 Nov;26(11):2593-2607.
doi: 10.1016/j.drudis.2021.06.009. Epub 2021 Jun 30.

AI-based language models powering drug discovery and development

Zhichao Liu  1 , Ruth A Roberts  2 , Madhu Lal-Nag  3 , Xi Chen  4 , Ruili Huang  5 , Weida Tong  6
Affiliations
Review

AI-based language models powering drug discovery and development

Zhichao Liu et al. Drug Discov Today. 2021 Nov.

Abstract

The discovery and development of new medicines is expensive, time-consuming, and often inefficient, with many failures along the way. Powered by artificial intelligence (AI), language models (LMs) have changed the landscape of natural language processing (NLP), offering possibilities to transform treatment development more effectively. Here, we summarize advances in AI-powered LMs and their potential to aid drug discovery and development. We highlight opportunities for AI-powered LMs in target identification, clinical design, regulatory decision-making, and pharmacovigilance. We specifically emphasize the potential role of AI-powered LMs for developing new treatments for Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) strategies, including drug repurposing, which can be extrapolated to other infectious diseases that have the potential to cause pandemics. Finally, we set out the remaining challenges and propose possible solutions for improvement.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence; COVID-19; Drug development; Drug discovery; Language models; Natural language processing.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered language models in the context of drug discovery and development. The overall stages of the development process are illustrated in the top layer (green), and the objectives from this process are captured in the layer below (blue). The text documents related to each stage are listed, and the opportunities of AI-powered language models are summarized in the following two layers (yellow and pink). Abbreviations: PD, pharmacodynamics; PK, pharmacokinetics.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered language models and human intelligence: (1) Transfer learning (green); (2) Apply knowledge (blue); and (3) summarize knowledge (yellow).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered language models for accelerating Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) treatment development. Potential opportunities, data resources, and key questions are illustrated. Abbreviation: CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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