Chinese researchers use AI to accelerate drug development (Voice_over) Chinese scientists at Zhejiang University are using AI to speed up the development of a new drug to treat progeria, a rare genetic condition that causes rapid aging in children. Using AI algorithms, the lab has designed and developed a new drug to treat the disease with outstanding results in laboratory trials ahead of upcoming clinical trials. Traditionally, the drug development process is expensive and lengthy involving several steps from target identification and drug screening to clinical trials and regulatory approval. The application of AI large models is helping to transform that process. (Sound_bite) Shen Ning, Researcher, Liangzhu Laboratory: "With traditional large-scale screening, the development of small molecule drugs used to take 15 to 20 years, with a very high failure rate. Now, with the support of AI algorithms, the drug development cycle can be shortened to just three to five years." (Voice_over) The Liangzhu Laboratory, also known as the Zhejiang Provincial Laboratory for Systems Medicine and Precision Diagnosis, was established in 2020 on the campus of Zhejiang University. In 2021, the lab established a multidisciplinary team, with experts in clinical medicine, biology, mathematics, computer science, and statistics to develop deep learning AI algorithms for the precision diagnosis and treatment of genetic and rare diseases. [Restriction: No access Chinese mainland]