Inside BioXcel Therapeutics’ AI-driven drug reinnovation strategy 

[Adobe Stock]

Friso Postma, vice president of AI for drug discovery at BioXcel Therapeutics, prefers the term “augmented intelligence” to “artificial intelligence.” His company uses AI tools to support human experts in drug repurposing efforts.

Postma, who holds a Ph.D. in signal transduction from the Netherlands Cancer Institute, transitioned to AI from wearable digital health devices. “I quickly found out that it’s very important to be able to contextualize AI,” he explains.

Now, Postma, trained as a biologist and electrophysiologist, that experience in contextualizing AI has been instrumental in developing and continuously refining an end-to-end platform for drug re-innovation, focusing on neurological rare and psychiatric disorders. This platform, which he helped create, is now central to his ongoing work. “Interestingly, I’m not a data scientist or an AI engineer, …

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  • May 1, 2024
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FDA warns against compounded oral ketamine for psychiatric disorders

[3D model of Ketamine from Wikimedia Commons]

In recent years, interest in the use of oral ketamine has surged for mood disorders, thanks to the marketing efforts of companies like Mindbloom, Better U, Nue Life and Joyous. FDA released a statement describing the risks involved in taking compounded oral ketamine, noting that the dissociative anesthetic is not FDA approved for any psychiatric disorder. 

Compounded oral ketamine risks

The agency specifically warned against the use of compounded ketamine without proper medical oversight, warning that sedation, dissociation, and vital sign changes “may put patients at risk for serious adverse events.” 

The FDA’s warning included several considerations related to the use of compounded ketamine for psychiatric disorders, including its potential for abuse and misuse. The agency also noted that ketamine use could lead to psychiatric events, given its associa…

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  • October 30, 2023
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