AI lab-bot enrolled in drug discovery programme

It can take years for scientists to refine the shape and property of target molecules, and up to a million molecules might have to be tested before the right one is discovered.

Now, Dr Richard Bourne, Associate Professor in the School of Chemical and Process Engineering at Leeds University, is leading a project to develop an AI-driven ‘lab-bot’ to refine the process. According to Dr Bourne, the initial aim of the project is to find medicinally-active chemicals that can be used to treat arthritis and cancer.

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To this end, Dr Bourne has been awarded a Senior Research Fellowship by the Royal Academy of Engineering to further the investigation, which adds to a £3.5m EPSRC grant awarded to Dr Bourne and partners to make advances in ‘cognitive chemical manufacturing’.

“Discovery chemists are involved in a ceaseless challenge to synthesise new drug molecules to the point where they can be successfully tested for medical activity,” he said. “But the process of reaching that point can be very slow, and that has consequences for people who are waiting for new drugs that could help alleviate painful and chronic conditions.