AI can cut cancer drug discovery time to 4 months
What's the story
Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the process of early-stage cancer drug discovery, reducing the time required from nearly eight years to just three or four months. This was revealed by Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee, an oncologist and co-founder/CEO of Manas AI, a US-based drug discovery start-up. He made the statement at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2026 in New Delhi.
Technological breakthrough
How Manas AI is tackling problem of rising drug costs
Dr. Mukherjee explained that Manas AI is tackling the problem of rising drug costs by combining machine learning with basic principles of physics and chemistry.
Instead of testing billions of existing chemicals one by one, their software identifies weak spots on disease-causing proteins and creates new drug molecules from scratch to block them.
This process was previously done manually by human researchers over a decade but now takes just two hours with Manas AI's algorithms.
Speedy process
Experimental cancer candidates up to 200 times stronger
Manas AI's algorithms, when combined with automated robotic lab testing, can finish each design-and-test cycle in three weeks.
This results in experimental cancer candidates that are up to 200 times stronger than existing competitor drugs on the market.
However, Dr. Mukherjee cautioned that curing cancer isn't a one-time solution since every cancer is biologically distinct, and complex diseases like pancreatic and stomach cancers remain major hurdles.
Cost implications
Limitations of AI in drug development
Dr. Mukherjee stressed that while AI can speed up early lab discovery, human clinical trials, manufacturing, and government approvals still take years and increase costs.
He said, "AI buys time and cost in the front end, but what it does not change yet is the cost of running a trial and the regulatory clock."
He called on India and China to simplify testing rules without compromising safety checks to further reduce drug development costs.