Race for First Drug Discovered by AI Nears Key Milestone

The global push to use artificial intelligence to find new medicines faces a crucial test as one front-runner starts approaching late-stage trials for a drug discovered by algorithms.

Insilico Medicine — which has headquarters in Hong Kong and New York — used AI to develop an experimental drug for the incurable lung disease idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The treatment is in mid-stage trials in the US and China with some results expected early 2025.

Insilico’s AI-run robotic laboratory in Suzhou, China, on Oct. 31.

Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

The results of Insilico’s trials are being closely watched in the drug industry because the company used AI to identify a new approach to fight against ...