Nvidia is teaming up with Roche Group’s Genentech to break new ground using generative AI in drug discovery. This multi-year strategic collaboration will merge Genentech’s models and datasets with Nvidia’s AI computing resources to propel AI research and speed up the discovery and delivery of new therapies.
Central to this collaboration are Nvidia’s DGX Cloud and BioNemo services. Nvidia will provide these tools to Genentech’s scientists, helping them to optimize and scale their models. The knowledge gained through this process will also aid in furthering Nvidia’s product development.
Drug discovery has traditionally been a lengthy and intricate process. Researchers need to study countless molecules and their interactions to find effective treatments for diseases. Genentech already utilizes AI to sift through large datasets quickly, identifying potential drug molecules and their interactions faster than traditional methods.
Genentech’s AI/ML teams have created advanced foundational models across various research areas and therapeutic modalities. With Nvidia’s assistance, they plan to use the DGX Cloud and BioNemo to enhance these custom algorithms and shorten the time required for drug discovery.
Nvidia DGX Cloud offers Genentech researchers dedicated AI supercomputing instances, while BioNemo allows them to pre-train or fine-tune their models on these instances. Genentech also intends to integrate BioNemo cloud APIs directly into their drug discovery processes.
Nvidia’s offerings will hasten the training and inference of generative models used in Genentech’s “lab in the loop” framework. In this setup, vast amounts of experimental data are fed into the models for iterative development. These models then reveal patterns and generate new, testable predictions of molecular designs, which scientists can assess in the lab. The results are fed back to improve the underlying algorithms, leading to the creation of better therapies.
To improve these custom models, Nvidia will utilize Genentech’s extensive molecular and biological datasets. However, Nvidia clarified that they will only access this data if explicitly allowed for a specific project.
Over the coming years, Nvidia aims to gain insights into the challenges of using AI in drug discovery through this partnership. These insights will help advance BioNemo and related products, ensuring they better meet the needs of enterprises in the healthcare sector.