Alphabet (the umbrella corp that owns Google and DeepMind) just launched Isomorphic Labs (IL).
In other words: The CEO of DeepMind, Demis Hassabis, is going to run a drug-discovery spinoff.
Up front:This seems like a really good thing.
DeepMindsAlphaFold 2has supposedly revolutionized how researchers study protein structures.
And Hassabis is obviously pretty good at running a lab.
But lets just have a gander atthe companys blog, shall we?
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Background:What ILs allegedly doing is applying AI to optimize the drug-discovery process.
Building on AlphaFold 2s work, IL is in a position to potentially speed-up the discovery of new drugs.
Those in the industry know this doesnt necessarily mean drugs will reach market faster.
This is because the drug discovery process isnt whats gumming up the works.
If youre imagining a billion sick people waiting for Alphabet to save them, youve got it all wrong.
IL can discover all the drugs it wants.
Quick take:Everyones optimistic about this endeavor for good reason.
Its a cool startup thats bound to do some important things.
But I guess we can always useyet another AI companytrying to apply algorithms to drug discovery.
