Artificial intelligence is transforming how we discover and develop new medicines. But how far can it really take us? In this episode, Jacob and Saloni trace the path of drug development from discovery to testing, manufacturing, and delivery. They explore where AI could speed things up, and where it still hits the limits of biology, data, and economics. They ask what it would take, beyond algorithms, to actually cure and eradicate diseases.
Hard Drugs is a new podcast from Works in Progress and Open Philanthropy about medical innovation presented by Saloni Dattani and Jacob Trefethen.
You can watch or listen on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.
Saloni’s substack newsletter: https://www.scientificdiscovery.dev/
Jacob’s blog: https://blog.jacobtrefethen.com/
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Works in Progress & Open Philanthropy
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What if you could design a protein never seen in nature? In this episode, Jacob and Saloni explore how researchers are using new tools like RFDiffusion, AlphaFold, and ProteinMPNN to ‘hallucinate’ entirely novel proteins: designing them from scratch to solve problems evolution hasn’t tackled. They talk about how these technologies could transform medicine, agriculture, and materials science. Along the way, they reflect on the surprising ways AI is changing the process of science itself.
Hard Drugs is a new podcast from Works in Progress and Open Philanthropy about medical innovation presented by Saloni Dattani and Jacob Trefethen.
Saloni’s substack newsletter: https://www.scientificdiscovery.dev/
Jacob’s blog: https://blog.jacobtrefethen.com/
Courses:
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Acknowledgements:
Works in Progress & Open Philanthropy
Subscribe to the Works in Progress print magazine: https://worksinprogress.co/print/
Nature didn’t evolve all the proteins we need, but maybe artificial intelligence can help. Jacob and Saloni explore how tools like AlphaFold and ProteinMPNN are helping researchers re-engineer proteins, to make them safer, more stable, and more effective. They talk about how new technologies could help make a long-sought vaccine against Strep A, which causes scarlet fever and rheumatic heart disease, and how similar tools have already led to breakthroughs against COVID and RSV.
Hard Drugs is a new podcast from Works in Progress and Open Philanthropy about medical innovation presented by Saloni Dattani and Jacob Trefethen.
Saloni’s substack newsletter: https://www.scientificdiscovery.dev/
Jacob’s blog: https://blog.jacobtrefethen.com/
Courses:
Articles:
Lectures:
Acknowledgements:
Works in Progress & Open Philanthropy
Subscribe to the Works in Progress print magazine: https://worksinprogress.co/print/
A hundred years ago, insulin was scraped from pig pancreases. Today, it’s made by bacteria in giant tanks. In the second part of a mini series on proteins, drug development and AI, Saloni tells the story of how insulin went from a crude animal extract to the first genetically-engineered drug, kickstarting the biotech industry along the way.
Hard Drugs is a new podcast from Works in Progress and Open Philanthropy about medical innovation presented by Saloni Dattani and Jacob Trefethen.
Saloni’s substack newsletter: https://www.scientificdiscovery.dev/
Jacob’s blog: https://blog.jacobtrefethen.com/
Books:
Articles:
Podcasts:
Acknowledgements:
Works in Progress & Open Philanthropy
This episode kicks off a mini-series on proteins, drug development and AI. Saloni and Jacob explore the world of proteins, including how proteins fold into complex shapes, why that complexity matters and how crowded and dynamic the inside of a cell really is; and they exchange surprising statistics about proteins.
Hard Drugs is a new podcast from Works in Progress and Open Philanthropy about medical innovation presented by Saloni Dattani and Jacob Trefethen.
You can watch or listen on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.
Saloni’s substack newsletter: https://www.scientificdiscovery.dev/
Jacob’s blog: https://blog.jacobtrefethen.com/
Books:
Articles:
Image credits:
Lenacapavir is a new HIV drug that blocks infections with an efficacy rate of nearly 100%, and it could completely change the fight against HIV worldwide. Saloni and Jacob talk about the development and prospects for this new drug, as well as the history of HIV, the initial discovery of retroviruses, and how HIV was transformed from a death sentence to a manageable condition.
Hard Drugs is a new podcast from Works in Progress and Open Philanthropy about medical innovation presented by Saloni Dattani and Jacob Trefethen.
00:00 Intro
03:52 How was HIV discovered? Where did it come from, and how does it attack the body and cause AIDS?
38:10 Antiretrovirals: How did scientists develop breakthrough HIV drugs — from azidothymidine to protease inhibitors to PrEP?
1:51:35 How does prevention and treatment work today?
2:19:03 HIV’s capsid and the breakthrough of lenacapavir, the first-approved HIV capsid inhibitor
2:50:36 How to develop long-lasting treatments
3:14:45 Lenacapavir’s near 100% efficacy in clinical trials
3:48:40 The impact of global programs against HIV, and can we now end HIV?
Saloni’s substack newsletter: https://www.scientificdiscovery.dev/
Jacob’s blog: https://blog.jacobtrefethen.com/
Books:
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Acknowledgements:
Hard Drugs is a new podcast about medical innovation: how to speed it up, how to scale it up, and how to make sure lifesaving tools reach the people who need them the most.
Presented and written by Saloni Dattani and Jacob Trefethen. Brought to you by Works in Progress and Open Philanthropy.