Insilico Medicine, a biotech company based in Hong Kong, created the first drug generated entirely by artificial intelligence to successfully reach clinical testing on humans, CNBC reported June 29.
The drug, INS018_055, is meant to improve the treatment options for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, as the commonly used treatments aim to slow, not stop, the condition and often cause negative side effects, according to Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, founder and CEO of Insilico Medicine.
"While there are other AI-designed drugs in trials, ours is the first drug with both a novel AI-discovered target and a novel AI-generated design," Dr. Zhavoronkov told CNBC.
The drug successfully completed phase 1 of the clinical trials and has begun phase 2: a 12-week trial taking place in China, employing a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. The phase 2 results will not be available until next year, according to CNBC.
The company expects to move forward to phase 3, which requires hundreds of individuals to participate in the study. In preparation for moving forward, the company aims to expand the current phase 2 testing to 60 subjects and 40 sites within the United States and China, according to CNBC.
"We are optimistic that this drug will be ready for market, and reach patients who may benefit from it, in the next few years," Dr. Zhavoronkov told CNBC.