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NEC and Chugai Pharmaceutical use AI to reduce drug combination prediction time for cancer treatments

Graph-based AI system developed by NEC may cut prediction time by 50%, offering support in identifying effective drug combinations for cancer therapy

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NEC Corporation, in collaboration with Chugai Pharmaceutical, has conducted an experiment using artificial intelligence (AI) to predict drug combinations that may improve the effectiveness of certain cancer treatments. According to the companies, the AI system may reduce the time required to produce these predictions by approximately 50 per cent when compared to Chugai’s conventional methods.

Combination drug therapy, which involves administering two or more drugs simultaneously, is a method commonly applied in cancer treatment. It is intended to produce a stronger therapeutic effect than when a single drug is used. However, identifying such combinations often requires extensive manual research, including the analysis of disease mechanisms, action pathways, and clinical data.

To address this challenge, NEC developed a system using in-house graph-based AI technology that processes large volumes of biochemical and clinical data sourced from public databases such as AACT and ChEMBL. By entering the name of a target drug, the system proposes other drugs that may increase the target drug’s effectiveness. The system also provides the rationale behind its suggestions to help researchers interpret the results.

In the experiment, NEC extracted information on approximately 400 cancer drug combinations from the AACT database. The AI system was then used to predict the potential effectiveness of these combinations in clinical application. NEC reported that the system may reduce the time needed to identify effective combinations by half. The predictions were also found to be accurate enough for consideration and supported by convincing data.

“These results show that the drug prediction system has the potential to help researchers to quickly and efficiently identify effective drug combination candidates for certain cancers,” the company stated.

NEC, which has over 60 years of experience in the healthcare and life sciences sectors, said it aims to enhance medical care and public health through the application of its proprietary AI solutions.

Looking ahead, NEC will continue its work on AI-based drug combination therapies and plans to contribute to the expansion of cancer treatment options through technology-driven research and development.

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