Are regulatory hurdles holding back AI's progress in biotech?

In biotech, the potential for AI to have a groundbreaking impact at a speed once only imaginable hinges on the industry's ability to embrace it. AI could be the defining difference-maker of our generation, but it may require getting out of the way to let it happen.

Junaid Mian, Venture Partner with 1435 Capital, a VC firm focused on growth stage companies from Seed through Series C across multiple industries, argues that regulatory frameworks need to evolve to realize the major progress AI is capable of delivering.

AI and the expanded horizon: "With AI, you can explore a much wider range of potential scenarios in biotech than humans typically consider. AI can identify patterns and connections across massive datasets that might be missed by even expert teams," Junaid explains. "AI can process these scenarios in seconds that humans around a table would probably take a week or month to review and still be talking about it."

No stone unturned: According to Junaid, AI offers a dramatic advantage over traditional research methodologies, expanding our views of risk and opportunities: "AI can literally have all this data and say, 'Did you think about this risk? Did you think about that risk? What's the probability of this risk?' You can iterate those scenarios back and forth at the speed of thought to say, 'Okay, this is the bigger picture that we did not see,'" he notes. "It gives you more knowledge to deal with that you just didn't have before."

Regulatory evolution: However, Junaid believes current regulatory structures represent a significant bottleneck to innovation. "There's a regulatory side for biologics that has to be a lot more streamlined. As scientific capabilities accelerate, regulatory frameworks need to evolve accordingly. This doesn't necessarily mean eliminating regulations, but rather creating more adaptive processes that can maintain safety standards while accommodating breakthrough technologies."