AI is now helping scientists discover new cancer drugs way faster, cutting the process down from nearly eight years to three or four months.
Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee shared at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2026 that his company, Manas AI, uses machine learning mixed with physics and chemistry to make this possible.
Trials and regulations lag India China
AI can design new drugs atom by atom and spot targets on disease-causing proteins in hours (not years), leading to stronger drug candidates.
Still, Dr. Mukherjee points out that human trials and regulations are slow and need updating, especially in India and China, to keep up with tech advances.
While AI has made blood cancer treatments more affordable in India, tough cancers like pancreatic still need more targeted solutions because of their complexity.
As he puts it, the complexity of cancers like pancreatic cancer continues to pose difficulties, so there's more work ahead for truly personalized treatments.