Idb president predicts AI will design all future drugs, downplaying timeline

Max Jaderberg, President of the AI drug discovery firm Isomorphic Labs, asserted that artificial intelligence will eventually be responsible for designing all pharmaceuticals, suggesting the timeline is a matter of degree rather than if. Speaking at the Bloomberg Tech Summit in London on November 2, Jaderberg emphasized that while the company aims to accelerate drug development using AI, its efforts are currently in the preclinical stage. Isomorphic Labs, spun off from Google DeepMind, not only develops drugs autonomously but also provides drug discovery technology to major biopharma companies like Eli Lilly and Novartis. The company, founded in 2021 and led by Demis Hassabis, has raised approximately $2.7 billion, with Alphabet and Thrive Capital among its investors. Hassabis, who previously led DeepMind, transitioned to Chairman of DeepMind and Alphabet Chief Scientist in August of this year. Jaderberg commented that traditional drug discovery relies heavily on trial and error, stating that human capability in this area is almost miraculous. The firm is currently negotiating a new funding round, with a potential valuation of $40 billion or higher, following its last funding announcement in May of this year.