Why AI Isn't Ready to Make Medicines

Many in venture capital and biopharma are anointing artificial intelligence the savior of drug discovery—but what can AI actually do?

In this eye-opening episode, Michael Marks sits down with Mike Nohaile, CEO of Prellis Biologics, to explore the hype versus reality in AI-enabled drug discovery. Mike details why, despite significant breakthroughs like AlphaFold and recent Nobel Prize win for computational protein design, fully AI-generated medicines still present challenges. He also discusses why we urgently need more effective medicines and details Prellis’ unique system which combines laser printed human organoids and an externalized human immune system with AI, enabling the discovery of fully human antibodies. 

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Links:

Explore Prellis Biologics

https://prellisbio.com/

Understand AlphaFold, DeepMind’s AI model for predicting protein structures

https://deepmind.google/alphafold


Read about the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 

https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2024/press-release/ 

Om Podcasten

The TechSurge: Deep Tech VC Podcast explores the frontiers of emerging tech, venture capital, and business. For entrepreneurs, investors, tech professionals, or anyone interested in where technology is headed next. Presented by Celesta Capital, and hosted by Founding Partners Nic Brathwaite, Michael Marks, and Sriram Viswanathan. Email feedback and show ideas to techsurge@celesta.vc. Join us as we examine the next major tech cycle, uncover emerging global tech hubs, and analyze where VC investment dollars are headed. Tune in to hear directly from Silicon Valley leaders, daring new founders, and visionary thinkers. Past guests on the podcast and TechSurge Live summits include Kara Swisher, Vinod Khosla, former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, and others. Each discussion delves into the intersection of technology advancement, market dynamics, and the founder journey, offering insights into the vast opportunities and complex challenges ahead. Episode topics include AI, data center transformation, blockchain, cyber security, healthcare innovation, VC investment trends, tips for first-time founders, and more. New episodes release every two weeks. Visit techsurgepodcast.com for more details and to sign up for our newsletter and other content!