Predicting, treating and solving serious health problems. This is not the description of a medical specialist but of AI, which is capable of saving lives. This alone is enough to understand the importance of the tool, which everyone is talking about today in relation to many different applications. When we talk about health and the possibility of preventing deaths, everything else takes second place, and for this reason, I was pleasantly surprised by a piece of news regarding the capabilities of AI.

An announced death and AI that changes destiny

The most striking case I read about concerns Joseph Coates, a 37-year-old American from Washington State who was suffering from Poems Syndrome, a rare disease with serious repercussions on the kidneys, limbs and heart, which left the young man with no hope of survival and destined him to leave this life far too soon. What changed his destiny was AI and the intuition of Dr David Fajgenbaum, a specialist in rare diseases. He was the one who suggested to Coates’ oncologist that they try an experimental therapy based on a combination of chemotherapy, immunotherapy and steroids. It was a risk because it was a treatment that had never been tried before, but with a situation with no other way out, it was almost easy for the patient and his oncologist to choose what to do. However, the crucial detail is that AI suggested the solution to Fajgenbaum.

AI gives healthcare a turbo boost

At this point, however, we need to understand how AI found the winning formula. The credit goes to the repurposing of drugs, which consists of identifying treatments that use drugs already on the market. It’s not a new technique, nor is the use of AI in healthcare, especially in this area, a novelty. Its action is to examine a long list of medicines that could be used for different diseases from those already known. In the words of Dr Lo, Coates’ oncologist, in this way, “artificial intelligence turbocharges healthcare”.

For the operation to be successful, another winning factor must be considered. In 2022, Dr Fajgenbaum founded the non-profit organisation Every Cure with the aim of using machine learning to compare thousands of drugs and diseases simultaneously. A process that has led his team to test 4,000 drugs with 18,500 diseases.

Each drug is given a score based on probability and effectiveness; at that point, the researchers examine the predictions to discover potential therapies and perform laboratory tests. The next step is to approach doctors who are dealing with patients who have no treatment for their disease and are, therefore, willing to try experimental solutions. This is a process that is gradually spreading in the United States, as well as in Europe, China, and Japan.

The big problem? Money

The most exciting aspect is that Coates’ health has improved. “We should be really happy because this is an example of AI that we don’t need to be afraid of and that will help many people,” said Dr Grant Mitchell, co-founder of Every Cure. And that’s the point: using AI to (try to) solve unsolvable cases and save lives. However, it’s not that simple because, as Fajgenbaum himself points out, he warns about the industrial and financial implications that limit the potential uses of the technology.

‘If you use AI to create a new drug, you can make a lot of money from that medicine. If you use AI to find a new use for an old, inexpensive drug, nobody makes any money at all,’ the doctor told the New York Times. As is often the case, it is not human or technological limitations that block health research but money and those who manage it. And that is a difficult aspect to accept.