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  • FROM THE ANALYST'S COUCH

The company landscape for artificial intelligence in large-molecule drug discovery

By
  1. Navraj S. Nagra

    1. McKinsey & Company, London, UK.

  2. Lieven van der Veken

    1. McKinsey & Company, Lyon, France.

  3. Erika Stanzl

    1. McKinsey & Company, Zürich, Switzerland.

  4. David Champagne

    1. McKinsey & Company, London, UK.

  5. Alex Devereson

    1. McKinsey & Company, London, UK.

  6. Matej Macak

    1. McKinsey & Company, London, UK.

Artificial intelligence (AI) techniques such as machine learning are transforming drug research and development (R&D), enabled by ever-increasing amounts of data and computational power. Historically, small molecules have been at the forefront of AI applications in drug discovery, including modelling small-molecule–target interactions, lead candidate optimization and safety prediction. However, AI tools are increasingly being applied to large-molecule modalities, including antibodies, gene therapies and RNA-based therapies. Such therapies represent an important share of the biopharma industry’s current portfolio — around 40% of new molecules approved in 2022 — and of its future commercial potential. For example, in oncology, large molecules are forecast to represent ~50% of the market by revenue in 2030, of which more than 80% is expected to be derived from antibodies.

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Nature Reviews Drug Discovery 22, 949-950 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41573-023-00139-0

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Jeffrey Algazy, Joachim Bleys, Sam White, Ester Friedlaenderova, Thomas Devenyns, Rachel Moss, Michael Steinmann and Chris Anagnostopoulos for their contributions to this article.

Supplementary Information

  1. Supplementary information

Competing Interests

The authors of this article are employees of McKinsey & Company, a management consultancy that works with the world’s leading biopharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. The research for this specific article was funded by McKinsey’s Life Sciences practice.

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