QIAGEN Launches AI-Driven Biomedical Knowledge Base to Propel Drug Discovery

The knowledge base aids data scientists in comprehending disease mechanisms, identifying potential biomarkers, and exploring opportunities for drug repurposing.

QIAGEN, a global provider of Sample to Insight solutions, has introduced QIAGEN Biomedical KB-AI, a knowledge base powered by generative AI, with the aim of transforming drug discovery processes in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors.

The company suggests that this resource is designed to assist data scientists and bioinformaticians in their efforts to drive data-centric drug development.

QIAGEN Biomedical KB-AI leverages a vast dataset sourced from biomedical literature and other scientific references. The AI technology employed by the platform discerns and extracts causal connections among genes, diseases, drugs, and other biological elements.

In comparison to its predecessor, QIAGEN Biomedical KB-HD, the new knowledge base boasts over 600 million additional biomedical relationships, providing an extensive repository for data scientists.

As per the company, the knowledge base aids data scientists in comprehending disease mechanisms, identifying potential drug targets or biomarkers, and exploring opportunities for drug repurposing.

QIAGEN Biomedical KB-AI offers a comprehensive view of biomedical relationships, including edge cases and emerging connections, providing professionals with valuable insights and exploration capabilities.

While the predecessor, QIAGEN Biomedical KB-HD, is known for meticulous manual curation, ensuring high quality and accuracy, QIAGEN Biomedical KB-AI claims to stand out with over 25 times more relationships.

This significant increase promises to enable data scientists to unearth novel insights in the drug discovery process. Both knowledge bases serve as valuable resources, offering a blend of high-quality and extensive biomedical relationship data for analysis and validation by professionals.

Key Features of QIAGEN Biomedical KB-AI

1. Extensive Scale: Curates 640 million biomedical relationships sourced from literature, patents, grants, and various references.

2. Causal Inference: Unveils over 6.4 million gene causal relationships, 1.99 million disease causal relationships, and 1.16 million drug causal relationships.

3. Structured Format: Results are organized in an ontology, facilitating swift querying and advanced analytics.

4. Timely Updates: Quarterly updates ensure alignment with the latest research findings and discoveries.

"QIAGEN Biomedical KB-AI represents a significant step forward in our mission to empower biopharma customers with the most comprehensive and informative molecular knowledge bases," said Jonathan Sheldon, senior vice president of QIAGEN Digital Insights.

"By combining the strengths of AI and human curation approaches, we provide researchers with the widest, deepest and highest quality knowledge sources," Sheldon added.

QIAGEN Digital Insights, the bioinformatics arm of QIAGEN, delivers genomic and clinical knowledge along with tools and services for analysis and interpretation, catering to scientists and clinicians.

AI Integration Across QIAGEN Digital Insights Portfolio

QIAGEN continues to integrate AI advancements across its QIAGEN Digital Insights portfolio. The company has been working on enhancing its products with AI technology.

In September 2023, it released an AI-driven upgrade to its flagship product, QIAGEN Clinical Insight Interpret, showcasing its commitment to incorporating cutting-edge technologies to benefit the scientific community.

The integration of generative AI and a vast biomedical dataset enhances the capabilities of the knowledge base, offering researchers a valuable resource for gaining insights, exploring connections, and advancing drug development efforts.

The platform aligns with QIAGEN's commitment to delivering comprehensive and informative molecular knowledge bases to the biopharma industry.

In a similar development related to drug discovery, US-based technology giant NVIDIA joined forces with biotechnology leader Amgen to revolutionize drug discovery through the development of generative AI models. The collaboration leverages NVIDIA's advanced AI technologies and Amgen's expertise in biotechnology.

Amgen is set to deploy the AI model-building platform Freyja at the deCODE genetics headquarters in Reykjavik, Iceland. With a primary focus on analyzing extensive human datasets, Freyja aims to identify drug targets and biomarkers, offering invaluable insights for disease diagnostics, progression, and regression.