Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM Watson Health and New York City-based Pfizer are collaborating to use the Watson for Drug Discovery platform to accelerate Pfizer's research in immuno-oncology therapies.
The Watson for Drug Discovery platform is a cloud-based offering that aims to help researchers discover new drug targets and alternative drug indications. It includes 25 million Medline abstracts, more than 1 million full-text medical journal articles, 4 million patents and is continually updated.
Pfizer will deploy Watson for Drug Discovery and customize the tool to further the discovery of potential immunotherapy treatments. Researchers and data scientists will use the cognitive computing tool to analyze large volumes of disparate data sources, including licensed and publicly available data as well as Pfizer's proprietary information and data sources.
"Pfizer remains committed to staying at the forefront of immuno-oncology research," said Mikael Dolsten, president of Pfizer Worldwide Research & Development, in a statement. "With the incredible volume of data and literature available in this complex field, we believe that tapping into advanced technologies can help our scientific experts more rapidly identify novel combinations of immune-modulating agents. We are hopeful that by leveraging Watson's cognitive capabilities in our drug discovery efforts, we will be able to bring promising new immuno-oncology therapeutics to patients more quickly."