Elsevier, a leader in information and analytics, has announced its support for The Pistoia Alliance in promoting safe and responsible AI adoption in drug discovery.

This effort aims to address key AI challenges, including the need for trustworthy data and AI transparency, through industry workshops, webinars and conferences.

Elsevier’s commitment will provide expertise to over 200 member organisations of Pistoia, including major pharmaceutical, biotech, healthcare and R&D firms.

This partnership has been ongoing for over a decade, focusing on equipping the industry with tools for effective, safe and ethical AI usage in drug discovery.

Mirit Eldor, Managing Director, Life Sciences Solutions at Elsevier, stated, “The Pistoia Alliance continues to be the ideal forum for productive collaboration. Coming together to share learnings can help overcome data barriers in life sciences.”

The announcement follows Elsevier’s recent Attitudes to AI report, highlighting both enthusiasm and concern among researchers regarding AI use.

Common issues include misinformation, critical errors and gaps in critical thinking, as mirrored in Pistoia’s Lab of the Future Report. Both reports underscore the need for better educational resources, such as ontologies training.

Elsevier has pinpointed five key areas to drive AI adoption in drug discovery: securing trustworthy data; structuring data for insights; ensuring transparent AI; unified governance; and bridging the skills gap.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has announced that people with heart failure can now stay healthier remotely through advanced remote monitoring technology designed to reduce hospital visits.

NICE has approved two algorithm-based technologies, HeartLogic and TriageHF, for remote monitoring of heart failure patients via cardiac implantable devices (CIEDs) like pacemakers. Boston Scientific’s HeartLogic enables early detection of worsening heart failure, reducing related hospitalisations by 72%. Access involves a one-time cost per patient, with potential discounts based on purchase volume.

TriageHF, developed by Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust researchers and Medtronic, also works with CIEDs to track heart failure risks, cutting all-cause hospitalisations by 58%. This technology and its CareLink data transmission service have an annual fee per patient.

In 2019 to 2020, heart failure accounted for approximately 90,000 hospital admissions in England, ranking among the top causes of preventable hospitalisations.

With the approval of HeartLogic and TriageHF, there is hope of individuals with heart failure having the ability to manage their health remotely, decreasing the need for hospital visits and improving patients’ quality of life.

Anastasia Chalkidou, Programme Director of NICE’s HealthTech directorate, said, “Being able to remotely monitor someone with heart failure and detecting whether their symptoms are worsening in real time could be the difference between life or death.