The COVID-19 pandemic was an eye opener for the world on how quickly diseases and pathogens can emerge and spread globally, wreaking havoc on societies, economies, and healthcare systems. While the pharmaceutical industry scrambled for vaccines and treatments for COVID-19, AI could give us the edge over the next global health threat, says Jeremy Skillington, PhD, CEO of Poolbeg Pharma.
Unfortunately, we’re living in a time where it’s not a matter of if, but when the next new pandemic will hit. This is driven by a number of factors like globalisation and climate change. We know viruses are constantly mutating through the process of evolution and natural selection, with the risk that a virus could spread from one species to another. And with factors like climate change, for example, we know that humans are coming into closer contact with animals as we encroach into their habitats. This proximity increases the likelihood of zoonotic diseases, which are infections transmitted from animals to humans.
Poolbeg Pharma plc (LON:POLB) is a clinical stage infectious disease pharmaceutical company, with a novel capital light clinical model which enables us to develop multiple products faster and more cost effectively than the traditional biotech model.
