Singapore researchers to find drugs for COVID-19 treatment using artificial intelligence

SINGAPORE, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) – A group of researchers in Singapore will leverage its artificial intelligence (AI) platform to test 12 locally available drugs to derive a combination of drugs that can be used to treat COVID-19, local media reported. Friday.

The interactive digital platform leverages artificial intelligence to calculate the most effective combination of drugs, along with their respective doses, out of more than 530,000 possibilities, the Straits Times reported. The research team will evaluate a set of 12 locally accessible drugs, ranging from antivirals to targeted therapies and other agents.

Researchers at the National University of Singapore’s Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine found in an April study that the most optimal drug combination comprises remdesivir, lopinavir, and ritonavir, which are used to treat patients with the virus. human immunodeficiency (HIV).

The Straits Times quoted Professor Dean Ho as saying that “the combination allowed almost complete inhibition of the virus, but remdesivir is not available, which is a challenge that we will address in follow-up studies.”

Additionally, remdesivir must be administered in hospitals via intravenous infusion, which could make it difficult to implement if there are many COVID-19 patients in the community, Ho said, adding that they are looking to research the drugs available in tablet form. for they can be consumed orally.