BRIEF—Illumina and AstraZeneca to use AI in drug discovery

DNA sequencing firm Illumina has announced a strategic research collaboration with UK pharma major AstraZeneca.

The firms will work together to accelerate drug target discovery using artificial intelligence (AI) based genome interpretation and genomic analysis techniques.

The goal of the collaboration is to evaluate whether a combined framework of technologies can “increase the yield and confidence of target discovery to find promising drugs based on human omics insights.”

Researchers will make use of Illumina's AI-based interpretation tools, PrimateAI and SpliceAI.

Illumina’s interim chief financial officer Joydeep Goswami said: "By identifying genes that show evidence of human disease causality, the combined framework has the potential to prioritize drug candidates with increased likelihood of approval."