Belarusian scientists apply AI to develop new medicines

Scientists in Belarus are using artificial intelligence (AI) to support the development of new medicines by analysing existing pharmaceuticals, identifying biological targets and designing potential drug molecules. The technologies are helping researchers accelerate the search for promising therapeutic compounds and improve the efficiency of drug development, as reported by BelTA, a partner of TV BRICS.

Anna Karpenko, Research Fellow at the Laboratory of Mathematical Cybernetics and Chair of the Council of Young Scientists at the United Institute of Informatics Problems of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, said one of the institute’s key research areas is drug repurposing. Using computational methods, including AI, researchers analyse large datasets to determine whether medicines already approved for one disease could be effective in treating other conditions. She highlighted a joint project with a university in Shanghai, where scientists screened extensive databases to identify potential medicines against COVID-19.

Another focus is the identification of biological targets (in pharmacology, this term refers to molecules or structures within the body that are affected by a medicine – ed.). According to Karpenko, advances in computational technologies have significantly expanded opportunities for studying the human body and identifying new targets for therapeutic intervention, supporting the development of more effective treatment approaches.

Researchers are also applying generative AI models to design new molecular structures with the potential to become future medicines. These technologies enable scientists to predict compounds that may interact effectively with specific biological targets before they proceed to experimental evaluation.

The institute's Republican Supercomputer Centre provides the computing capacity required to develop advanced AI models and process complex biomedical data. Current research covers COVID-19, tuberculosis and oncology, with the most promising results achieved in tuberculosis and viral infection studies, where several newly identified molecules have already entered the testing stage.