China approves first AI-developed drug

China has approved Mprosevir, the first Class 1 innovative medicine developed with the use of artificial intelligence, according to the country’s National Medical Products Administration and Global Times.

The drug is intended for adults with mild to moderate COVID-19. Its development took 3.5 years, from identifying a promising compound to completing clinical trials. Conventional development of a similar drug usually takes 10 to 15 years.

Scientists and AI analyzed a database containing 49 billion molecular compounds. The process identified potential candidates within days. The development team then spent two years optimizing the selected molecule, improving its activity and drug-like properties, reducing toxicity, and moving it from laboratory cell tests and mouse studies into clinical trials.

The team said Mprosevir showed that AI-assisted drug development is now both efficient and feasible. In China, Class 1 medicines are fully original innovative drugs that have not previously been marketed domestically or overseas. The report also noted Kazakhstan’s plans to use AI to forecast medicine demand and identify fraudulent prescriptions.

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Mprosevir has demonstrated that genuine AI-assisted drug development is currently both efficient and feasible.