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

Chinese technology conglomerate Huawei plans to expand ​its AI cooperation with ​local pharmaceutical firms into drug development and clinical ​practice, a senior executive said.

The move highlights Huawei's ambitions to gain a foothold in the fast-growing AI drug discovery market, where pharmaceutical ‌companies are ⁠investing in ⁠modelling tools and automated laboratories to shorten development timelines and improve ​efficiency.

"As we further deepen our research into AI in the medical field, ​we'll have more collaboration and results emerging with pharmaceutical companies from drug manufacturing to clinical to final implementation," William ​Zhang, president of Huawei's healthcare business ⁠unit, told ‌Reuters on Wednesday.


He said that Huawei had ​some existing ​collaborations in the area of clinical practice in ⁠hospitals and was exploring more opportunities, without ​further elaboration.

The projects now are mainly with domestic ​drugmakers, he said.

US chip giant Nvidia has struck AI-related partnerships with drugmakers such as Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, as technology companies seek to capitalise on growing demand for AI-powered drug research.

Huawei offers tools for screening potentially ‌viable drug compounds, alongside its Ascend and Kunpeng chips.

In May, Huawei said one project involving state-owned ​Guangzhou Pharmaceutical ​Holdings was the ⁠industry's first production validation of independently developed AI drug research models that were adapted to its Ascend and Kunpeng technologies.

Industry forecasts ​suggest that the use of machine learning to optimize target discovery, design molecules and streamline clinical trial planning could halve early-stage development timelines and costs within the next three to five years, Reuters has previously reported.