Beefing Up Computational Muscle to Understand Molecular Activity of Drug Candidates
Jan 10, 2024
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Nadia Harhen, an expert in drug development, discusses the challenges in drug discovery and the potential of quantum-inspired computing. Sandbox AQ aims to accelerate drug development, reduce costs, and improve clinical success rates. The podcast also explores the history and business model of Sandbox AQ, the impact of AI in drug development, and utilizing failed clinical trial data and AI to design specialized trials.
Sandbox AQ is leveraging quantum-inspired computing to optimize drug development for neurodegenerative diseases and cancer, aiming to bring better leads sooner and improve the failure rate of drugs in development.
Sandbox AQ applies AI to accelerate drug development, reducing time and cost, improving success rates, and optimizing drug properties through flexible and fast computational platforms.
Deep dives
Sandbox AQ's Approach to Drug Development and Quantum-Inspired Computing
Sandbox AQ, a company that spun out of Alphabet, is leveraging quantum-inspired computing to address the challenges of drug development for neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. By optimizing drug discovery processes, they aim to bring better leads sooner and improve the failure rate of drugs in development. Their unique approach combines physics simulations with AI to explore the chemical space and optimize drug properties. While drug discovery is their main focus, they also apply similar techniques to materials, chemistry, and finance. Their simulations utilize classical hardware and the principles of quantum physics to piece together a grounded understanding of molecular interactions.
The Role of AI in Accelerating Drug Development
Sandbox AQ applies AI to accelerate drug development and overcome challenges in the journey from target to indication. By optimizing for multiple parameters simultaneously and adapting in silico tests, they aim to reduce the time and cost of bringing a drug to market. This approach allows them to uncover better leads sooner and improve the success rate of drugs, particularly in the high rate of efficacy failures during phase two. Their computational platform offers flexibility, speed, and the ability to optimize drug properties, addressing the failures and limitations of traditional drug discovery methods.
Quantum-Inspired Computing and the Future of Drug Development
Sandbox AQ's quantum-inspired computing utilizes algorithms based on the manipulation of entanglement. Although they simulate entanglement on classical hardware, they have identified industries, including drug discovery, where additional simulation tools are needed. Their AI combined with classical modeling allows them to have a disruptive impact, even without access to quantum computers. While they anticipate a hybrid mode of computation with quantum computers in the future, they focus on pushing the performance and limits of classical hardware. By leveraging simulation data, clinical data, biochemistry, and the physics of molecules, they aim to accelerate drug development, produce better drugs faster, and address challenging diseases deemed 'undruggable' in the traditional context.
Sandbox AQ, the Alphabet spin-out backed with $500 million in investment, in June 2023 unveiled it AQBioSim division. The division is working to bring SandoxAQ’s AI and quantum-inspired computing to develop new treatments for intractable medical conditions including neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. The company is working with leading drug developers and university medical centers to accelerate drug development, reduce costs, and improve the rate of clinical success. We spoke to Nadia Harhen, general manager of simulation and optimization for SandboxAQ, about the challenges of drug development it is seeking to address, how Sandbox AQ is leveraging quantum technologies, and why it is seeking to tackle an intractable set of diseases. One note: As we were preparing to publish this episode, Sandbox AQ announced it acquired Good Chemistry, a computational chemistry company that leverages AI, quantum, and other advanced technologies to accelerate drug discovery. The deal is expected to enhance SandboxAQ’s existing computational chemistry and simulation capabilities, adding talent, technologies, and industry insights.
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