Huawei plans for more AI pharma tie-ups, says healthcare president

Chinese tech giant Huawei aims to expand its artificial intelligence (AI) partnerships with domestic pharmaceutical companies, according to William Zhang, president of Huawei's healthcare business unit. Zhang highlighted the company's ambitions to enter the rapidly growing AI drug discovery market, where pharmaceutical firms are investing in advanced modelling tools and automated laboratories to expedite development and improve efficiency.

The company is already engaged in clinical practice collaborations with hospitals and is actively seeking additional opportunities. Currently, most of their projects involve domestic drug manufacturers. Huawei provides AI tools for screening potential drug compounds, complemented by its Ascend and Kunpeng chips.

Nvidia, a U.S. chipmaker, has also formed AI-related partnerships with pharmaceutical companies like Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. Huawei's Ascend and Kunpeng chips are used for screening potentially viable drug compounds. In May, Huawei announced that a collaboration with state-owned Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Holdings was the first production validation of AI drug research models developed independently using their Ascend and Kunpeng technologies.

Industry forecasts suggest that the integration of machine learning in optimizing target discovery, molecule design, and clinical trial planning could reduce early-stage development timelines and costs by half within the next three to five years.