For world and domestic medicine, the pandemic resulting from the outbreak of coronavirus around the world ultimately brought more benefits than disadvantages. This was stated by Dmytro Shymkiv – the chairman of the Darnitsa Group board of directors. According to him, there are four areas now confidently developing, which will soon change the global pharmaceutical industry.
The first one is computer simulation. Digital computing makes it possible to predict how a particular virtual protein will affect the structural components of the Covid-19 coronavirus. This technology also allows us to simulate the behavior of this and other viruses in the human body and the response of disease-causing cells to therapy. Such kind of computer processing will help to significantly reduce the duration of in vitro studies – those that are carried out in laboratory conditions, or “in vitro”.
The second direction is DNA and RNA sequencing. For the first time, the coronavirus genome was deciphered in January 2020. By the end of the same month, 28 genome variants had already been registered in the Chinese genetic database GenBank. A month later, dozens of countries began the sequencing process. This marked the beginning of the development of 166 coronavirus vaccines, as well as potential cures for it. Now, in parallel with the study of the Covid-19 genome, a search is underway to discover genetic dependence that determines the severity of the course of the disease. Dmytro Shymkiv pointed out that earlier such studies cost about $ 30 thousand. Now their cost does not exceed $ 100. This means that in the near future even small laboratories will be able to afford sequencing.
The third is artificial intelligence and BigData. Computer systems, collecting and storing millions of medical histories and medical records, as well as information on the effectiveness of drugs, will be able to generate treatment protocols and suggest therapy tactics to doctors. As far as the fight against coronavirus is concerned, artificial intelligence can play a pivotal role in disrupting the spread of Covid-19. So Health Services will be able to track the movements and contacts of infected people and assess the risks of outbreaks. This will help avoid the practice of total lockdowns and move to the targeted introduction of quarantine measures.
And the last thing – is telemedicine. According to Dmytro Shymkiv, it will move not only Ukrainians, but also the entire population of the planet to soon change the usual view on pharmaceutics and medicine. Remote reception and counseling using voice and video communication became more and more actively practiced precisely during the pandemic. This method of contact with a doctor has become the only possible way for many people at risk. But even when the trend of an increase in the incidence rate began to decline, it did not lose its relevance and significantly simplified the work of doctors and the life of patients.