Though some have expressed misgivings about the potential misuse or lack of control of Artificial Intelligence (AI), a recent development indicates that it may prove extremely useful in speeding the development of drugs to treat challenging cancers like malignant mesothelioma. A new machine learning algorithm created by scientists at the University of California at San Diego promises to streamline the process and help researchers get new treatments to patients faster.
Drug Discoveries Hold Key to Improving Mesothelioma Outcomes
Developing a new and effective mesothelioma drug is a time-intensive and expensive process that requires thousands of experiments, but Artificial Intelligence promises to exponentially speed up the timeline. Proving that point, the Department of Medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine collaborated with the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering to build an AI-guided platform to aid in drug discovery.
According to senior author Trey Ideker, professor in UC San Diego’s Department of Medicine, the technology will be made “open source and accessible to anybody who wants to use it,” significantly reducing the costs for mesothelioma drug exploration.
New POLYGON Platform Will Expand Mesothelioma Treatment Options
The platform created by the UC San Diego team is called POLYGON, and the advantage that it offers to mesothelioma researchers and others lies in its ability to identify molecules with multiple targets rather than the single target therapies being explored through existing technologies. This enhances the opportunity to test combination therapies.
Speaking of the platform’s potential, Ideker says, “It takes many years and millions of dollars to find and develop a new drug, especially if we’re talking about one with multiple targets. The rare few multi-target drugs we do have were discovered largely by chance, but this new technology could help take chance out of the equation and kickstart a new generation of precision medicine.”
It is hoped that as more technologies are developed, we are getting closer to more effective treatments for malignant mesothelioma. For information about accessing state-of-the-art treatment, contact the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net today. We can be reached at 1-800-692-8608.
