Large language models facilitating modern molecular biology and novel drug development

Front Pharmacol. 2024 Dec 24:15:1458739. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1458739. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

The latest breakthroughs in information technology and biotechnology have catalyzed a revolutionary shift within the modern healthcare landscape, with notable impacts from artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning (DL). Particularly noteworthy is the adept application of large language models (LLMs), which enable seamless and efficient communication between scientific researchers and AI systems. These models capitalize on neural network (NN) architectures that demonstrate proficiency in natural language processing, thereby enhancing interactions. This comprehensive review outlines the cutting-edge advancements in the application of LLMs within the pharmaceutical industry, particularly in drug development. It offers a detailed exploration of the core mechanisms that drive these models and zeroes in on the practical applications of several models that show great promise in this domain. Additionally, this review delves into the pivotal technical and ethical challenges that arise with the practical implementation of LLMs. There is an expectation that LLMs will assume a more pivotal role in the development of innovative drugs and will ultimately contribute to the accelerated development of revolutionary pharmaceuticals.

Keywords: ChatGPT; artificial intelligence; drug development; large language models; protein structure prediction.

Publication types

  • Review

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. The authors express their gratitude to the Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Project of Shandong Province (M-2023080), the Shandong Provincial University Youth Innovation Team, China (No. 2022KJ102), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 32000194), and the Research Fund for Academician Lin He New Medicine (JYHL2021MS23).