UNSW finds 24 cancer drug combinations faster with AI
Professor Fatemeh Vafaee at the University of NSW's AI institute uses AI to find 24 cancer drug combinations faster than traditional methods.
Finding the right mix of drugs to treat cancer and diabetes has millions of possible answers. Traditional drug development succeeds around 10 per cent of the time, taking 15 years and costing about 2 billion dollars.
Professor Fatemeh Vafaee uses AI to predict which drug combinations might work before testing them. Her team has found 24 drug combinations in pre-clinical studies at Melbourne's Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.
AI since 2022 lets scientists work several thousand times faster than before. Vafaee's lab is also developing tools for rare cancers with less data.
Earlier this year, she worked with a commercial partner on a blood test for recurrent breast cancer, which affects about 15 per cent of breast cancer patients.
- 10 per cent
- Traditional success rate
- 15 years
- Traditional timeline
- $2 billion
- Traditional cost
- 24
- Combinations identified
Why it mattersFaster drug discovery could bring treatments for rare and complex cancers to patients years sooner and at a fraction of the cost.
AustraliaThis Sydney-based research could speed up cancer treatment options for Australian patients and position UNSW as a leader in AI medicine globally.
Corroborated bytheage.com.au·watoday.com.au
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 2 h ago
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