Article Excerpt: While the opioid epidemic is one of the most urgent public health emergencies facing the U.S., new therapeutic approaches for treating the underlying substance use disorder have lagged far behind. Scientists have now used an artificial intelligence program to design a compound that reduced fentanyl use in addicted rats, which could one day serve as a new tool to help patients recover from opioid abuse.
California-based company GATC Health used an AI platform called Operon to scan through data from the brains of people who had lived with opioid use disorder for potential drug targets. The model homed in on two serotonin receptors and then repeatedly crafted better and better molecules that can bind to them, according to a new research paper.
A team led by Christie Fowler, Ph.D., a neuroscientist at the University of California, Irvine, then tested the ability of the two most promising candidates to reduce opioid use in rats addicted to the drug. One compound in particular, GATC-1021, was able to cut cravings for opioids in the rodents with no noticeable behavioral or physical side effects.
Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/5fjh7b9k
Article Source: Fierce Biotech