Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the life sciences industry, providing unprecedented opportunities for technological advancements in healthcare. Life sciences companies must embrace AI and Machine Learning (ML) Technologies adapt, grow and remain competitive in a rapidly changing landscape.
“Since early 2023, AI has dominated nearly every facet of culture. Millions of people are having human-like conversations with ChatGPT and Bard, creating realistic (and fake) visuals of celebrities and politicians,” states a recent article report According to Definitive Healthcare, “the global AI software industry is expected to reach a market size of $22.6 billion by 2025.”
The report highlights the significant growth and potential of artificial intelligence, with companies around the world increasingly using AI in their operations. The hype around artificial intelligence is akin to the smartphone revolution, and its widespread adoption is expected to be the next big technological shift.
Life Sciences Intelligence explores the report’s key findings, highlighting the transformative potential of AI and its significant influence on healthcare technology.
The Impact of AI on the Life Sciences Market
The life sciences industry is seeing significant interest and investment in AI. Major pharmaceutical companies are recognizing the potential of AI and are increasing their partnerships with AI companies. AI is being used to create more effective drugs, enable robot-assisted surgeries, identify patients who are ready for treatment, and improve patient outcomes.
According to the report, “The global AI market in life sciences is expected to reach $7.09 billion by 2028, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.23% — half of the top 50 pharmaceutical companies have partnership or licensing agreements with AI companies.”
AI applications in life sciences and pharmaceuticals have led to numerous mergers and acquisitions. For example, in February 2023, Envision Pharma Group Acquires OKRA.ai to leverage its AI technology for medical, commercial and market access.
Benefits of AI in Life Sciences
The applications of AI in life sciences are vast. By leveraging AI, healthcare technologies can reveal insights from unstructured data, support early diagnosis of diseases, identify patients for clinical trials, accelerate drug discovery and development, and optimize marketing and sales activities.
These applications are already in effect. IBM Watson has developed an AI-based platform which sifts through clinical trial data, existing datasets, and scientific publications to identify potential drug candidates and accelerate drug discovery. Researchers have successfully used this technology to identify RNA-binding proteins for Alzheimer’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
“AI helps healthcare professionals diagnose illnesses earlier, create personalized care plans, improve coordination and communication, and help patients become more actively involved in their own care,” the report notes.
Road obstacles and safety
The potential of AI in life sciences is immense, but industry leaders and regulators must address the challenges and concerns associated with AI integration. Protecting confidential patient data, ensuring high-quality data for training AI models, and managing the ethical implications of AI replacing jobs are critical hurdles that must be overcome.
“Security, data quality and ethical concerns are among the main challenges and concerns related to the adoption of AI.”
Despite considerable interest, life sciences professionals lack knowledge about the capabilities and implications of AI. Medical device leaders recognize the need for greater understanding, indicating a greater desire to learn more about AI than their biopharma counterparts. Closing this knowledge gap is critical to maximizing the potential of AI in healthcare technology.
“Many life sciences experts feel they have a lot to learn about AI,” the report says. “Leaders in the medical device industry expressed a greater need to learn more about AI than respondents in the biopharma industry.”
The Definitive Healthcare report also highlights the urgency for life sciences companies to embrace AI and ML technologies to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving industry. AI’s transformative potential, coupled with its benefits in disease diagnosis, patient care, and drug development, makes it a critical component of healthcare technology.
By understanding the state of AI in life sciences and its impact on healthcare technology, companies can make informed decisions and harness the full potential of AI to advance patient care and improve outcomes.
The potential of AI in life sciences
The application of AI in life sciences holds immense potential to drive innovation and improve patient outcomes. AI-powered algorithms can analyze vast amounts of medical data, including electronic medical records, clinical trial data, and research articles, to uncover trends, identify correlations, and generate insights that can aid in disease diagnosis, treatment planning, and personalized medicine. By leveraging AI, healthcare technology can accelerate the development of new drugs, streamline clinical trials, optimize healthcare operations, and improve patient care.
The role of AI in precision medicine
As the Definitive Healthcare report states, “AI has the potential to revolutionize precision medicine by enabling the identification of biomarkers, prediction of treatment response, and tailoring therapies to individual patients.”
Precision medicine AI aims to provide targeted treatments based on an individual’s genetic makeup, lifestyle, and environmental factors. AI algorithms can analyze genomic data and patient medical records to identify genetic variations and predict treatment responses. This personalized approach to medicine can improve treatment outcomes, minimize adverse effects, and optimize resource allocation in healthcare.
Companies have applied AI algorithms in psychiatric settings to identify appropriate psychiatric medications for their patients. Last year, PharmaNewsIntelligence interviewed Talia Cohen Solal, PhD, CEO and co-founder of Genetika+, which developed NeuroKaire. The tool combines pharmacogenomics and brain technology in a tin can with AI algorithms to identify the best antidepressant for patients with major depressive disorder.
AI-based imaging and diagnostics
AI algorithms trained on large medical image datasets can help radiologists detect abnormalities and identify potential diseases at an early stage. AI-powered imaging Technologies can analyze images from various modalities, such as X-rays, MRIs and CT scans, to provide more accurate and faster diagnoses.
“AI can dramatically improve medical imaging and diagnostics, enabling earlier detection of disease and improving diagnostic accuracy,” leading to faster initiation of treatment, better disease management and improved patient outcomes, according to the Definitive Healthcare report.
Overcoming regulatory and ethical challenges
As AI becomes increasingly integrated into healthcare technologies, “regulatory frameworks and ethical considerations must keep pace with the rapid advances in AI to ensure patient safety and data privacy.”
Responsible and transparent implementation of AI is essential to maintain patient trust, protect sensitive data, and address concerns about bias, algorithm transparency, and accountability in AI-based decision-making.
Collaborations and partnerships
To harness the full potential of AI, life sciences companies must form strategic partnerships with AI technology providers. These collaborations facilitate the exchange of expertise, resources and data, leading to new solutions, enhanced research capabilities and accelerated development of AI-based health technologies.
By embracing AI and addressing its challenges, life sciences companies can unlock new opportunities for innovation, drive technological advancements in healthcare, and ultimately improve patient outcomes. The integration of AI in healthcare promises to transform how diseases are diagnosed, treatments are developed, and personalized care is delivered, ushering in a new era of precision medicine and patient-centric healthcare.
