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Huawei seeks more AI drug partnerships with local pharmaceutical firms
Huawei healthcare president William Zhang said the company plans to expand cooperation beyond clinical practice into drug development and implementation.
Huawei plans to expand its AI cooperation with local pharmaceutical firms into drug development and clinical practice, according to a senior executive at the company. Reuters reports William Zhang, president of Huawei's healthcare business unit, said the effort is aimed at producing more collaboration and results across the drug pipeline, from manufacturing through clinical use and final implementation.
The move underscores Huawei's ambition to gain a foothold in the AI drug discovery market, where pharmaceutical companies are investing in modeling tools and automated laboratories to reduce development timelines and improve efficiency, Reuters said. Huawei said it already has collaborations related to clinical practice in hospitals and is exploring additional opportunities.
Reuters also noted that U.S. chipmaker Nvidia has formed AI-related partnerships with drugmakers including Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, as demand grows for AI-powered drug research. Huawei provides tools for screening drug compounds and uses its Ascend and Kunpeng chips.
In May, Huawei said a project involving state-owned Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Holdings was the industry's first production validation of independently developed AI drug research models adapted to its Ascend and Kunpeng technologies. The report added that industry forecasts suggest machine learning could halve early-stage development timelines and costs within three to five years.