☕ AI-dentifying new drugs

06-24-2024

Pharma companies are using GenAI to discover new drugs.
Morning Brew June 24, 2024

Healthcare Brew

Welcome back! Researchers have developed a new test that can identify biomarkers that could predict Parkinson’s disease up to seven years before the onset of symptoms. With about 90,000 people in the US diagnosed with the disease each year, a test could help people get care earlier.

In today’s edition:

Discovery channel

Desperate for dental

—Mikaela Cohen, Cassie McGrath

PHARMA

Finding new meds

A prescription drug bottle filled with 0s and 1s to represent binary code. Francis Scialabba

Generative AI is making waves in drug discovery.

Drug companies are increasingly interested in how AI could potentially help speed up the drug discovery process, which can take around a decade and an average of $2.7 billion, the Financial Times reported. In Q1 2024, the global pharmaceutical industry saw a 45% increase in how often AI was mentioned in company filings from Q4 2023, according to Pharmaceutical Technology.

This time and money savings has been a “holy grail” for decades, said Anthony Gotzis, senior managing director at consulting firm FTI consulting, who told Healthcare Brew that “when AI can start to provide real intelligence around that discovery, trial and error—that’s going to be a huge shot in the arm.”

Zoom out. Drug discovery can be broken down into three steps, according to Alex Snyder, head of research and development at biotherapeutics company Generate: Biomedicines. Researchers identify a “target,” such as a disease or virus; they build a molecular structure for a drug; then they conduct clinical trials to see if the drug works on the target.

While automation has long been used for data collection and spotting data patterns, Snyder said generative AI is now making suggestions for new drugs in a fraction of the time.

Her team used the AI tech on Generate’s platform while developing a drug intended to prevent Covid-19 from spreading in the body.

Keep reading here.—MC

   

FROM THE CREW

Your burning questions about work, answered

The Crew

Is it okay to ask your co-worker how much they make? Is Gen Z set up for failure in the workplace? Should you really bring your whole self to work? Each week on Per My Last Email, Morning Brew’s resident career experts, Kaila and Kyle—whose careers have collectively spanned the corporate, government, nonprofit, and startup sectors—debate the trickiest challenges in work life and share insightful (and sometimes hilarious) tactics on how to overcome them.

Listen now.

STAFFING

Short in the tooth

Female dentist and assistant treat the teeth of a female patient. alfexe/Getty Images

The dental industry—like other parts of healthcare—is facing significant staffing challenges.

The US is in need of nearly 10,000 dental professionals and has more than 6,800 health professional shortage areas (HPSAs), which the US Department of Health and Human Services defines as “a geographic area, population, or facility with a shortage of primary care, dental, or mental health providers and services.”

While the shortage of dental workers is affecting states around the country, it doesn’t affect all regions equally. Of those 6,800 HPSAs, 4,571 are “rural” and 233 are “partially rural,” according to data from the Health Resources and Services Administration.

Marko Vujicic, chief economist and VP of the health policy institute at the American Dental Association (ADA), said the shortage of dentists and dental professionals in rural areas is a “significant issue.” He added that underserved populations, particularly Medicaid beneficiaries, also lack access.

“If somebody asked me if there was a shortage of dentists, I would say no,” Vujicic told Healthcare Brew. “There’s plenty in metropolitan areas; there’s not enough in the areas that have the highest need.”

Keep reading here.—CM

   

TOGETHER WITH INDEED - CAREERS IN CARE

Indeed - Careers in Care

Learn from the best. Get exclusive career advice from entrepreneur and comedian Nurse Blake, thanks to Indeed. Read up on six nursing strengths to highlight on your resume + level up your career with tips, including how to get the most out of short-term career goals in healthcare. Explore the articles.

VITAL SIGNS

A laptop tracking vital signs is placed on rolling medical equipment. Francis Scialabba

Today’s top healthcare reads.

Stat: $1.26 billion. That’s how much Boston Scientific will pay to acquire medical device company Silk Road Medical. (the Wall Street Journal)

Quote: “It’s like being tricked.”— Tieqiao Zhang, a Texas patient who was hit with a big bill when visiting an “urgent care emergency center,” a freestanding emergency department that he thought was an urgent care (NPR)

Read: Both Arizona and Florida have passed laws to expand health insurance for children, but the rollouts are illustrating the stark ideological differences between Arizona’s Democratic governor and her Republican counterpart in Florida. (the Washington Post)

Listen: Morning Brew Daily has the wittiest and smartest takes on business news. Check it out wherever you get your podcasts.

THE PLAYBOOK

Let’s make a game plan

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