A secretive lab within Alphabet, the parent company of Google, is on the verge of testing its first human clinical trials for cancer drugs designed entirely by artificial intelligence. Isomorphic Labs, founded by the team behind DeepMind’s groundbreaking AlphaFold, is pushing forward with this ambitious goal, raising both excitement and skepticism about AI’s role in the future of medicine.
The promise of AI-driven healthcare innovation is immense. For decades, the development of new drugs has been a slow, expensive process, often taking more than a decade and billions of dollars to bring a single drug to market.
However, with AI systems like AlphaFold 3, Isomorphic Labs is striving to change that by predicting protein structures and designing drug molecules tailored to fight specific diseases. Despite the potential benefits, the shift towards AI-designed treatments brings up important concerns about transparency, accountability, and access.
The Technology Behind Isomorphic Labs
Isomorphic Labs is built on the success of AlphaFold, the AI system developed by DeepMind that revolutionized the study of proteins by accurately predicting their complex 3D structures. This achievement has been pivotal in the development of AlphaFold 3, the next-generation AI that Isomorphic Labs uses to design drugs.
The AI can digitally map out the structures of proteins in the human body with astonishing precision, allowing scientists to create molecules that target specific diseases, such as cancer, before physical testing even begins. This shift promises to drastically shorten the drug development timeline, potentially transforming the entire pharmaceutical industry.
Colin Murdoch, the President of Isomorphic Labs and Chief Business Officer of Google DeepMind, confirmed, in a recent interview with Fortune, that the company is preparing for its first human clinical trials with oncology treatments based on AI designs.
The company has already secured major partnerships, including multi-billion-dollar agreements with pharmaceutical giants Novartis and Eli Lilly. In addition, Isomorphic Labs recently raised $600 million to support its mission of moving its drug candidates into clinical development, starting with cancer treatments.
The Ethical Dilemmas of AI-Designed Drugs
The rapid rise of AI in drug development also raises important ethical questions. Isomorphic Labs is pushing forward with the idea of a medical utopia, where AI can eliminate diseases faster and more efficiently than ever before. However, as the technology progresses, concerns about transparency and the potential for monopolistic control over life-saving treatments are becoming more pronounced.
The “black box” problem is one of the central challenges in AI-driven medicine. While the AI can design effective drugs, the process remains opaque, and we cannot always understand how the AI arrives at its conclusions.
This lack of transparency can be troubling, particularly when it comes to critical healthcare decisions. Who will own these life-saving drugs—Alphabet, the company that owns Isomorphic Labs, or the patients who need them? Additionally, will the drugs be priced in a way that makes them accessible to everyone, or will they be held behind patents and high prices, benefiting only the wealthy?
The Future of Drug Development: Speed vs. Safety
As Isomorphic Labs moves closer to testing its AI-designed drugs on humans, it must also address the safety concerns that accompany such rapid development. Traditional drug development is a long process, ensuring that new treatments are thoroughly tested and safe before reaching the market. AI, however, operates at a much faster pace, creating questions about whether the standards for human trials will be able to keep up with the speed at which these drugs are being developed.
The potential for AI to accelerate drug discovery is undeniable, but it also requires an overhaul of existing trial frameworks to ensure that safety is not compromised in the pursuit of speed. According to the CEO of Isomorphic Labs, Sir Demi Hassabis, the company’s next-generation AI system could revolutionize not only drug design but also the entire process of clinical trials. However, such a shift requires the cooperation of regulatory bodies and an assurance that public health remains a priority, not just innovation.