Chinese scientists use AI to boost drug screening by a millionfold

Researchers from Tsinghua University and BAAI have developed DrugCLIP, an AI-driven drug screening platform that can map drug interactions across the entire human genome at unprecedented speed. Published in Science, the system achieves a millionfold increase in screening efficiency by converting complex protein–drug interactions into a fast vector-based retrieval problem using deep learning.

DrugCLIP overcomes major limits of traditional virtual screening, making whole-genome drug discovery practical for the first time. Since its public release in 2025, it has been widely used by researchers worldwide.

Experts say DrugCLIP will significantly accelerate drug discovery, expand possible drug candidates, and help identify entirely new drug targets, marking a new “post-AlphaFold” era in pharmaceutical research.

Credit : CGTN