Descripción del proyecto
Evaluación asistida por ordenador de la seguridad y toxicidad de los medicamentos
La producción de medicamentos, desde su descubrimiento hasta su comercialización, es un proceso complejo y arduo que implica tiempo, recursos y riesgos considerables. Un aspecto crucial consiste en someter los medicamentos a pruebas de seguridad y toxicidad, en las que los histopatólogos veterinarios formados en toxicología evalúan manualmente miles de cortes histológicos. Sin embargo, la escasez de este tipo de profesionales plantea un reto importante. En el proyecto PATH-TOX, financiado con fondos europeos, se desarrollará un sistema de diagnóstico asistido por ordenador denominado PATHOLYTIX-TOX. Esta innovadora solución pretende agilizar el proceso de revisión de histopatología toxicológica. En el proyecto se optimizará el motor de análisis de imágenes para mejorar su rendimiento y extender su uso a otros tejidos. El equipo de PATH-TOX también desarrollará la interfaz de usuario, la gestión de datos y el marco en la nube. Con el uso de la tecnología de inteligencia artificial, también se pretende mejorar la eficiencia y accesibilidad en los procesos de desarrollo de fármacos.
Objetivo
Drug discovery is a time consuming, expensive and risky process. Each drug to market must undergo safety/ toxicity testing in animals which yields thousands of tissue sections that currently must be assessed manually by a trained veterinary pathology. However, there is a looming crisis due to the lack pathologists.
The PATH-TOX consortium is led by Irish SME, Deciphex Ltd, and includes key partners such as Janssen Pharmaceuticals in Belgium and Pathology Data Systems Ltd a Swiss based SME. They are creating PATHOLYTIX-TOX a computer aided diagnostic system to streamline the pathology review process. Using state-of-the-art artificial intelligence (AI) image analysis tools it will automatically identify the normal and abnormal tissues upfront, allowing the pathologist to focus mainly on the abnormal cases, hence accelerate workflow.
To date, we have built a working prototype of the image analysis engine, which can identify abnormal tissue in liver. In this project we will optimise the engine further to improve performance and expand its use into other tissues. We will also develop other features such as the user interface, data management and cloud framework. Once developed, we will perform a comprehensive validation and benchmarking study to compare to manual pathology assessment.
There is a large, growing, global target market for PATHOLYTIX-TOX. Pharma and CROs worldwide routinely perform thousands of animal toxicology tests each year, who are potential customers. With regards to competitors, there is no direct competition. Competitors offer individual components of the pathological workflow, not fit-for-purpose solutions for the toxicology pathology market.
Overall, PATHOLYTIX would have a big impact on drug development, by reducing the time required for pathology review and associated costs. This should have a knock on effect for the global and EU markets, reducing time and cost for new drugs to get to market.
Ámbito científico
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacydrug discovery
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesartificial intelligence
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacypharmaceutical drugs
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepathology
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinetoxicology
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
IA - Innovation actionCoordinador
2340 Beerse
Bélgica