The possibility that global technology company Google will transform from a pharmaceutical industry leader to a new drug development company in 10 years is drawing attention. Google, which has already established itself as the center of the future biohealth industry by innovating the life sciences field through artificial intelligence (AI) technology, is shaking up the pharmaceutical industry.
DeepMind, a research institute under Google’s parent company Alphabet, unveiled the AI-based protein structure prediction system ‘AlphaFold’ in 2021. AlphaFold has predicted more than 200 million protein structures, establishing itself as an innovative tool for life science research. This technology is shortening the new drug development process and opening up new possibilities for disease treatment that were difficult with existing technologies.
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[Korean Today] Google © Reporter Park Jeong-hee |
Traditionally, new drug development has been considered a high-cost, high-risk industry that takes decades and costs billions of dollars. However, Google’s AI technology is acting as a game changer by streamlining key stages of the pharmaceutical industry, such as discovering new drug candidates and designing clinical trials.
Google is also investing in research aimed at extending human lifespan through its life science company Calico, and is focusing on healthcare data analysis and disease prediction by combining precision medicine and wearable technology through Verily. In this way, Google is leading the creation of new value across the entire life sciences, going beyond being a simple AI technology company.
The possibility that Google will transform into a new drug development company in 10 years is also controversial in the pharmaceutical industry. While some experts expect that Google will be able to change the paradigm of the pharmaceutical industry by utilizing a data-based platform, there are also opinions in the existing pharmaceutical industry that artificial intelligence technology should collaborate with existing pharmaceutical companies to create greater synergy.
Google’s move is also having a major impact on the global biohealth market. According to market research firms, the biohealth industry is expected to grow at an annual average of 10% or more by 2030, reaching a scale of 3 trillion dollars. In the process, there are high expectations that Google’s AI and life science technology convergence will accelerate the pace of new drug development and contribute to solving global healthcare issues.
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[Korean Today] Is it possible for Google to transform from a pharmaceutical industry leader to a new drug development company in 10 years? © Reporter Park Jeong-hee |
In this regard, Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google’s DeepMind, said, “AI technology can be a tool to overcome the limitations of disease treatment,” and “Our goal is to fundamentally improve human health and lifespan.”
If Google transforms into a leader in the life science industry through the development of new drugs, it will be an opportunity to create a new industrial landscape through the convergence of technology and medicine. It will be interesting to see what kind of innovations Google will bring in the next 10 years through collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry or through independent research.
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