Artificial intelligence and scientific progress are revolutionizing medicine, accelerating the process to develop new treatments and bolstering collaboration between patients and health providers.
INSIGHT
While the driving force behind all medical and pharmaceutical innovation is to meet the expectations and critical needs of patients, innovation also leaves its mark on society in return. On June 18, Servier held the THRPTX Innovation Summit, a unique forum for discussion bringing together over 200 internationally renowned speakers from the world of academia, research, patient organizations and the pharmaceutical industry to set out a framework for the future of oncology. The event served to consider the impact on society of recent scientific progress in medicine, especially in relation to the use of artificial intelligence.
From the patient to treatment: the targeted, personalized medicine revolution
The use of AI in health care pathways is revolutionizing treatment. Until very recently, treatments were prescribed according to the condition diagnosed, with standard protocols applied to all patients with the same illness. The rise of artificial intelligence has turned this approach on its head, making it possible to prescribe targeted, personalized treatments that better take account of the unique characteristics of each patient, as well as their specific biology and genetics. It also helps to identify groups of patients who present the same biological characteristics, or similar genetic anomalies, who would be likely to benefit from the same treatment. Moreover, it has led to the emergence of innovative therapeutic processes such as gene therapies, based on the creation of digital twins – virtual models of patients built using genetic, molecular and clinical data.
Toward a more comprehensive assessment of treatments
In the long term, recent scientific progress could also help to adjust the criteria used to assess treatments. Their value will no longer be defined solely according to their efficacy in increasing the chances of patients surviving, but will also take account of their impact on their daily lives, which can be better measured by systematically collecting more in-depth data. Servier is fully engaged in considering these developments in an effort to improve patients’ quality of life and better support them at every stage of the care pathway.
More generally, the use of AI increases the chance of successfully discovering new medicines and significantly reduces the time required in the research phase. For patients, this means new solutions will arrive on the market in much shorter timeframes.
Giving patients a platform – the emergence of a collaborative culture in medicine
To ensure recent progress in AI-based medical technology yields promising results, it is essential for it to be built upon a huge volume of patient data from all across the world. It is therefore essential the medical industry encourages patients to engage in dialogue about the industry and medical innovation, which they are all the more eager to do following the Covid pandemic, and foster the emergence of a medical culture based on heightened collaboration across the board. Indeed, the entire medical and pharmaceutical industry must absolutely raise awareness among patients around the world about the importance of giving feedback throughout their treatment to speed up the design and deployment of innovations, made accessible to all by leveraging the data collected.
This changes the game in the medical and pharmaceutical industry by blurring the lines between the previously distinct worlds of research and innovation, and the public. The emergence of this collaborative culture also redefines the conventional relationship between health care providers and patients, which is gradually becoming a more balanced, two-way association.
The era of agility – rethinking the way health systems work
Recent scientific and technological progress harnessing artificial intelligence has reached a high level of maturity in a timeframe that has been both exceptionally short and unexpected. Patients are fully aware of this and expect health systems to make these innovations available to all as quickly as possible.
However, they will need to undergo in-depth transformations to respond to these expectations. Regulatory bodies need to be among the first to bring about this sea change. Indeed, the considerable expansion in the volume of health data being generated presents them with the significant challenge of drawing up a clear regulatory framework setting out how they may be used. This is no mean feat, as they must find the right balance between introducing regulations that are sufficiently strict to guarantee the data is properly protected, but also sufficiently flexible to offer researchers enough latitude to innovate. Finally, the medical and pharmaceutical industry must absolutely upskill their workforce to ensure the health sector takes full advantage of recent innovations to improve patient care.
Inside our R&D Institute at Paris-Saclay — Over 1,200 researchers work day in, day out, to broaden the frontiers of medical innovation, harnessing technology and AI to develop new therapeutic solutions for patients all around the world.
SERVIER IN ACTION
Servier and Owkin harnessing AI to develop targeted oncology treatments
In 2023, Servier established a partnership with Owkin, a biotech company specialized in applied AI to discover and develop new medicines and diagnostic tools. This partnership uses AI to drive progress and rapidly bring about more targeted treatments in multiple therapeutic areas such as oncology.
“I strongly believe the convergence of progress in science, medicine and AI is key to accelerating the development on innovative treatments and bringing about a new age in patient care”
Fabien Schmidlin, Executive Director of Translational Medicine, Servier
Co-creating with patients to further medical research
“Each patient is unique”. Although an aphorism, this acknowledgement raises major challenges for research. It highlights the importance of co-creating with patients, ensuring they represent the driving force behind the research. That is why Servier is currently collaborating with patient groups all around the world on over 250 projects.
“THRPTX demonstrates our drive to pursue open dialogue with all stakeholders to speed up the emergence of innovative, accessible and sustainable therapeutic solutions.”
Claude Bertrand, Executive Vice President Research & Development, Chief Scientific Officer, Servier
Partnership with Google Cloud harnessing AI and data to accelerate medical innovation
In 2022, Servier joined forces with Google Cloud forming a partnership that seeks in particular to enhance our ability to innovate and improve patient care. In this way, Servier may begin to conjointly build innovative initiatives such as accelerating the development of new medicines using AI and analyzing real-world data to obtain tangible proof of scientific efficacy and tolerance of treatments.
View from the field
Data and AI are opening a wealth of opportunities.
“When scientific innovation combines with the power of technology, huge leaps forward will be achieved in the way patients experience treatments. Data and AI are opening a wealth of opportunities in relation to discovering new medicines, accelerating the route to market and also enhancing patient monitoring, helping for example to identify relapses or improve adherence to treatment. The technology will affect the entire pharmaceutical value chain.”
