Exscientia described how, at ELRIG 2024, their robotics laboratory in Oxfordshire, UK, improves efficiency and productivity in the development of novel compounds.

An increasing number of pharmaceutical companies are designing medication compounds with algorithms as AI keeps disrupting the healthcare sector. At the ELRIG Drug development 2024 symposium in London, UK, on October 2–3, the AI pharmaceutical research and technology firm Exscientia provided details on how robots and AI may be utilized to its complete end-to-end automated drug development workflow.

According to a Boston Consulting Group study, Redhead revealed that the number of AI-designed compounds going through clinical trials has been rising at a rapid pace since 2016. Furthermore, preliminary evidence indicates that AI-designed compounds have an 80% phase I success rate, compared to an industry average of 15%.

The automated method of the Oxford-based business prioritizes versatility in conducting diverse tests over high-throughput screening (HTS). This enables the system to comprehend and test complicated targets and procedures quickly.

Redhead claims that while HTS is the main emphasis of traditional assaying technology, stocks must be handled by humans, who will also remove them from freezers. On the bench, a person will get them ready. The robot will be programmed by a human, and it will then perform the identical experiment again and at scale.

He clarified that although if fewer trials have been conducted, automation has created an economic incentive to run more assays and produce more data for AI.

In Oxfordshire, UK, Exscientia has opened a 26,000 square foot robotic laboratory. In the last five years, Redhead claims that the business has utilized AI to produce four compounds that deliver therapeutic classes with less human participation.

Redhead emphasized, nevertheless, that artificial intelligence exists to boost efficiency rather than to replace people. Investments in biotechs with AI-driven drug pipelines seem to be increasing. Bristol-Myers Squibb, a major pharmaceutical company, and Exscientia inked a $1.2 billion AI drug development agreement in 2021 to research small compounds.