Isomorphic Labs, a drug discovery startup owned by Google's parent Alphabet, will have its first AI-designed drug enter clinical trials by the end of 2025, according to founder Demis Hassabis. Speaking at the World Economic Forum, Hassabis revealed that the company is targeting major disease areas, including oncology, cardiovascular, and neurodegeneration, as reported by the Financial Times.
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Collaborations with Eli Lilly and Novartis
The company, which was spun out of Google DeepMind in 2021, aims to reduce the drug development timeline—traditionally 5 to 10 years—by up to tenfold using artificial intelligence. Isomorphic Labs is collaborating with pharmaceutical companies Eli Lilly and Novartis on six drug development programs, according to the report.
Project Astra: AI Assistant
Hassabis, who also serves as chief executive of Google DeepMind, reportedly said the company's prototype AI assistant, known as Project Astra, is expected to roll out to consumers later this year. According to the report, he described a near future, within three years, where there are "billions" of AI agents, "negotiating with each other on behalf of the vendor and the customer." This development, he said, would require a rethinking of the web itself.
However, Hassabis urged more caution and coordination among leading AI developers in developing artificial general intelligence (AGI), warning of potential misuse by malicious actors.
Threaten Human Civilisation
He reportedly cautioned that the technology could threaten human civilisation if it runs out of control or is repurposed by "bad actors...for harmful ends."
Google DeepMind's ultimate goal is to create artificial general intelligence, or "a system that is capable of exhibiting all the cognitive capabilities that humans have," according to Hassabis, who reportedly added that, despite social media "hype" about it being close, true AGI was still five to 10 years away.
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"If something's possible and valuable to do, people will do it," Hassabis said, according to the report. "We're past that point now with AI, the genie can’t be put back in the bottle...so we have to try and make sure to steward that into the world in as safe a way as possible."
