Gene sequencing firm Illumina launched a dataset that connects genetic alterations to enhance drug discovery using artificial intelligence.

The firm announced its collaboration with pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca, Merck, and Eli Lilly for its Billion Cell Atlas, which aims to scale up the training of sophisticated AI models and enhance research into basic disease mechanisms that have formerly been inaccessible.

Drug developers are progressively utilizing AI for discovery and safety evaluation to achieve quicker and more affordable outcomes, aligning with the US Food and Drug Administration's initiative to minimize animal testing shortly.

Certara, a software developer for drug solutions, along with biotechs like Schrodinger and Recursion Pharmaceuticals, are leveraging this fast-growing technology to forecast how test drugs may be absorbed, distributed, or cause harmful side effects.

"Illumina CEO Jacob Thaysen states that the Cell Atlas is a crucial advancement that will allow us to greatly enhance AI for drug discovery."

The Atlas will record the responses of 1 billion unique cells to genetic modifications through CRISPR in over 200 cell lines associated with diseases.

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These cell lines have been chosen for their significance to illnesses, many of which have traditionally been challenging to understand, including immune disorders and cancer, along with cardiometabolic, neurological, and uncommon genetic diseases.

The Atlas will allow users to define drug and disease modes of action, investigate possible new indications, and confirm candidate targets based on human genetics.

Illumina, Inc. is a worldwide leader in genomics, offering DNA sequencing and array-based life sciences technologies for research and personalized health.

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It is recognized for its high-throughput, next-generation sequencing (NGS) platforms that employ sequencing-by-synthesis (SBS) to decode DNA, facilitating progress in oncology, rare diseases, reproductive health, and agriculture by enhancing the speed, cost-effectiveness, and accessibility of genomic analysis.

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They design, produce, and sell integrated systems, including advanced sequencers such as the NovaSeq series, providing researchers and clinicians globally with solutions for whole-genome sequencing, transcriptomics, epigenomics, and beyond.