Google’s parent company Alphabet is getting into yet another market and has launched another company that will use artificial intelligence (AI) to identify drug combinations for the treatment of various diseases. Alphabet already has a similar company, DeepMind.
On Thursday, Alphabet announced the launch of Isomorphic Laboratories, a new company that will use AI to discover new drugs. Alphabet’s DeepMind does similar work and has used AI to predict useful protein structures.
DeepMind’s CEO Dennis Hassabis will also be the head of Isomorphic Laboratories. However, the two are separate companies that will sometimes collaborate.
Experts have recommended AI as a way to make the discovery of new medications faster and more efficient. That explains why the medical field has invested hundreds of millions in AI over the past two years.
Isomorphic Laboratories will focus on building AI models that can predict how potential medication can interact with the body, explained Hassabis. That could be accomplished by building on DeepMind’s progress in structure of proteins, which could help predict how different proteins interact.
A spokesperson told The Verge that the company might not develop its own medications. It will sell its models and form partnerships with pharmaceutical companies.
