Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca announced on Monday the spin-off and launch of a new digital health company called Evinova. AstraZeneca says the new company will operate independently within the AstraZeneca ecosystem.
“The future of medical development can be facilitated by digital solutions,” said AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot. “We believe that Evinova’s combination of scientific expertise and track record in developing AI-enabled digital technologies at scale, provides a real opportunity to fundamentally improve patient care, drive innovation in health care, and reduce carbon emissions.”
Digital health refers to technologies and applications designed to improve health care delivery, patient outcomes, and the overall efficiency of the health care system. These technologies include wearable devices, remote care and telemedicine, smartphone applications, and virtual or augmented reality.
AstraZeneca said the digital health market is expected to be worth $900 billion by 2032 and that growth is critical to reducing healthcare costs. Although the time and cost required to conduct clinical trials cause almost 80% of them to fail, the company claims, as the average time between the start of a clinical trial and the end of – approval over seven years.
“The initial focus of Evinova is the design of clinical trials and the conduct of clinical trials,” an AstraZeneca spokesperson said. Decrypt. Joining AstraZeneca in supporting Evinova are North Carolina-based clinical research organizations Parexel and Fortrea.
Since the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT last year, artificial intelligence has become mainstream in many industries, including medicine, education, and defense. Tech giants Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta have invested heavily in artificial intelligence in the past year.
Evinova said artificial intelligence can speed up the process by helping teams design studies, automate cost calculations, and determine trial feasibility based on regional and historical data.
The use of AI, says AstraZeneca, will also speed up the decision-making process.
In October, at the annual Healthy Longevity Global Innovator Summit, Microsoft Corporate Vice President of Research and Incubations Peter Lee said that GPT-4—the latest version of ChatGPT—helped his family manage his elderly man’s health. father and explained the family’s complex medical issues that were the source of heated arguments.
“GPT’s ability to give us guidance just lowers the temperature and keeps the family together,” Lee said.
Meanwhile, a study published in the international journal Nature suggests that AI models can be used to diagnose and remove central nervous system (CNS) tumors. Earlier this year, a UK-based biotech startup called Etcembly said it was using generative AI to try to design new immunotherapy to treat cancer cells.
“From within the sector and with proven experience, Evinova is uniquely placed to deliver science-based, evidence-led, and human experience-driven solutions with the goal of improving the experience and outcomes of patient,” Evinova president Cristina Duran said in a statement.
