Cited by 636Computational Drug Discovery MethodsArtificial Intelligence in Healthcare and EducationCOVID-19 diagnosis using AI

Artificial intelligence in COVID-19 drug repurposing

Open access
Zhou, Yadi, Wang, Fei, Tang, Jian, Nussinov, Ruth, Cheng, Feixiong·2020·The Lancet Digital Health

Abstract

Drug repurposing or repositioning is a technique whereby existing drugs are used to treat emerging and challenging diseases, including COVID-19. Drug repurposing has become a promising approach because of the opportunity for reduced development timelines and overall costs. In the big data era, artificial intelligence (AI) and network medicine offer cutting-edge application of information science to defining disease, medicine, therapeutics, and identifying targets with the least error. In this Review, we introduce guidelines on how to use AI for accelerating drug repurposing or repositioning, for which AI approaches are not just formidable but are also necessary. We discuss how to use AI models in precision medicine, and as an example, how AI models can accelerate COVID-19 drug repurposing. Rapidly developing, powerful, and innovative AI and network medicine technologies can expedite therapeutic development. This Review provides a strong rationale for using AI-based assistive tools for drug repurposing medications for human disease, including during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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  • In some cases, AI-powered approaches have identified promising drug candidates for COVID-19 in a fraction of the time that traditional methods would take.

    “In some cases, these AI-powered approaches have been able to identify promising drug candidates in a fraction of the time that it would take when using traditional methods [26,27,28,29,30,31].”
  • ML algorithms have been used to analyze large datasets of potential compounds and identify those with the most potential for treating COVID-19.

    “ML algorithms have been used to analyze large datasets of potential compounds and identify those with the most potential for treating the virus.”
  • AI-assisted tools for drugs and repayment for human diseases, including COVID-19, are strongly proved.

    “The study is a strong proof for the use of AI-assisted tools for drugs and repayment for human diseases, including COVID-19 in times of fatal disease [11].”

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Authors
Zhou, Y., Wang, F., Tang, J., Nussinov, R., & Cheng, F.
Affiliations
  • Cleveland Clinic (US)
  • Cornell University (US)
  • HEC Montréal (CA)
  • Tel Aviv University (IL)
Corresponding author
Cheng, Feixiong
Venue
The Lancet Digital Health
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2020-12
Volume
2
Issue
12
Pages
e667-e676
ISSN
2589-7500 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3087156149
Cited by
636
References
89
Citations by year
2026: 50 · 2025: 74 · 2024: 73 · 2023: 131 · 2022: 117 · 2021: 173 · 2020: 18
FWCI
9.64
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • The Lancet Digital Health (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • reponame:Expeditio Repositorio Institucional UJTL
Funders
  • National Science Foundation (2027970, 1750326, HHSN261200800001E)
  • Cleveland Clinic
  • Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (HHSN261200800001E.)
  • National Institutes of Health (#HHSN261200800001E, COVID-19, HHSN261200800001C)
  • National Institute on Aging (R01AG066707)
  • National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (R00HL138272, HHSN261200800001E)
  • Office of Naval Research (N00014-18-1-2585, N00014)
  • National Cancer Institute (HHSN261200800001E))
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computational Theory and Mathematics › Computational Drug Discovery Methods
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Health Informatics › Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Education
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › COVID-19 diagnosis using AI
Keywords
drug repurposing, COVID-19 pandemic, artificial intelligence, network medicine, precision medicine, drug target identification, drug development acceleration, big data
MeSH terms
SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 Drug Treatment, Algorithms, Antiviral Agents, Artificial Intelligence, Drug Therapy, Combination, Humans, Treatment Outcome, Drug Discovery, Drug Repositioning

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