Drug Design and Disease Diagnosis: The Potential of Deep Learning Models in Biology

Early prediction and detection enable reduced transmission of human diseases and provide healthcare professionals ample time to make subsequent diagnoses and treatment strategies. This, in turn, aids in saving more lives and results in lower medical costs. Designing small chemical molecules to treat fatal disorders is also urgently needed to address the high death rate of these diseases worldwide. A recent analysis of published literature suggested that deep learning (DL) based models apply more potential algorithms to hybrid databases of chemical data. Considering the above, we first discussed the concept of DL architectures and their applications in drug development and diagnostics in this review. Although DL-based approaches have applications in several fields, in the following sections of the arti-cle, we focus on recent developments of DL-based techniques in biology, notably in structure predic-tion, cancer drug development, COVID infection diagnostics, and drug repurposing strategies. Each review section summarizes several cutting-edge, recently developed DL-based techniques. Additionally, we introduced the approaches presented in our group, whose prediction accuracy is relatively compara-ble with current computational models. We concluded the review by discussing the benefits and draw-backs of DL techniques and outlining the future paths for data collecting and developing efficient computational models.Copyright © 2023 Bentham Science Publishers.

National trends in prescription drug expenditures and projections for 2023.

PURPOSE: To report historical patterns of pharmaceutical expenditures, to identify factors that may influence future spending, and to predict growth in drug spending in 2023 in the United States, with a focus on the nonfederal hospital and clinic sectors. METHODS: Historical patterns were assessed by examining data on drug purchases from manufacturers using the IQVIA National Sales Perspectives database. Factors that may influence drug spending in hospitals and clinics in 2023 were reviewed, including new drug approvals, patent expirations, and potential new policies or legislation. Focused analyses were conducted for biosimilars, cancer drugs, diabetes medications, generics, COVID-19 pandemic influence, and specialty drugs. For nonfederal hospitals, clinics, and overall (all sectors), estimates of growth of pharmaceutical expenditures in 2023 were based on a combination of quantitative analyses and expert opinion. RESULTS: In 2022, overall pharmaceutical expenditures in the US grew 9.4% compared to 2021, for a total of $633.5 billion. Utilization (a 5.9% increase), price (a 1.7% increase) and new drugs (a 1.8% increase) drove this increase. Adalimumab was the top-selling drug in 2022, followed by semaglutide and apixaban. Drug expenditures were $37.2 billion (a 5.9% decrease) and $116.9 billion (a 10.4% increase) in nonfederal hospitals and clinics, respectively. In clinics, new products and increased utilization growth drove growth, with a small impact from price changes. In nonfederal hospitals, a drop in utilization led to a decrease in expenditures, with price changes and new drugs contributing to growth in spending. Several new drugs that will influence spending have been or are expected to be approved in 2023. Specialty and cancer drugs will continue to drive expenditures along with the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSION: For 2023, we expect overall prescription drug spending to rise by 6.0% to 8.0%, whereas in clinics and hospitals we anticipate increases of 8.0% to 10.0% and 1.0% to 3.0%, respectively, compared to 2022. These national estimates of future pharmaceutical expenditure growth may not be representative of any particular health system because of the myriad of local factors that influence actual spending.

Versatile Applications of Nanosponges in Biomedical Field: A Glimpse on SARS-CoV-2 Management.

Nanotechnology has a versatile use in the field of disease therapy, targeted drug delivery, biosensing, and environmental protection. The cross-linked nanosponges are one of the types of nanostructures that provide huge application in the biomedical field. They are available up to the fourth generation and can act as a payload for both kinds of hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs. There are different methods available for the synthesis of these nanosponges as well as loading the drugs inside them. A variety of approved drugs based on nanosponges are already in the market including drugs for cancer. Other applications include the uses of nanosponges as topical agent, in improving solubility, as protein carrier, in chemical sensors, in wastewater remediation, and in agriculture. The present review discusses in detail about different applications of nanosponges and also mentions about the recent SARS-CoV-2 management using nanosponges.

A systematic literature review of revealed preferences of decision-makers for recommendations of cancer drugs in health technology assessment.

OBJECTIVES: This review intends to provide an overview of revealed preferences of decision-makers for recommendations of cancer drugs in health technology assessment (HTA) among the different agencies. METHODS: A systematic literature search was performed in MEDLINE and EMBASE databases from inception to July 2020. The studies were eligible for inclusion if they conducted a quantitative analysis of HTA's previous decisions for cancer drugs. The factors with p-values below the significance level of .05 were considered as the statistically significant factors for HTA decisions. RESULTS: A total of nine studies for six agencies in Australia, Belgium, France, South Korea, the UK, and Canada were eligible to be included. From the univariable analysis, improvements in clinical outcomes and cost-effectiveness were found as significant factors for the agencies in Belgium, South Korea, and Canada. From the multivariable analysis, cost-effectiveness was found as a positive factor for the agencies in the UK, South Korea, and Canada. Few factors related to characteristics of disease and technology were found to be significant among the included agencies. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the different drug reimbursement systems and the socioeconomic situations, cost-effectiveness and/or improvement on clinical outcomes seemed to be the most important factors for recommendations of cancer drugs among the agencies.

National trends in prescription drug expenditures and projections for 2022.

PURPOSE: To report historical patterns of pharmaceutical expenditures, to identify factors that may influence future spending, and to predict growth in drug spending in 2022 in the United States, with a focus on the nonfederal hospital and clinic sectors. METHODS: Historical patterns were assessed by examining data on drug purchases from manufacturers using the IQVIA National Sales Perspectives database. Factors that may influence drug spending in hospitals and clinics in 2022 were reviewed-including new drug approvals, patent expirations, and potential new policies or legislation. Focused analyses were conducted for biosimilars, cancer drugs, generics, COVID-19 pandemic influence, and specialty drugs. For nonfederal hospitals, clinics, and overall (all sectors), estimates of growth of pharmaceutical expenditures in 2022 were based on a combination of quantitative analyses and expert opinion. RESULTS: In 2021, overall pharmaceutical expenditures in the US grew 7.7% compared to 2020, for a total of $576.9 billion. Utilization (a 4.8% increase), price (a 1.9% increase) and new drugs (a 1.1% increase) drove this increase. Adalimumab was the top drug in terms of overall expenditures in 2021, followed by apixaban and dulaglutide. Drug expenditures were $39.6 billion (a 8.4% increase) and $105.0 billion (a 7.7% increase) in nonfederal hospitals and in clinics, respectively. In clinics and hospitals, new products and increased utilization growth drove growth, with decreasing prices for both sectors acting as an expense restraint. Several new drugs that are likely to influence spending are expected to be approved in 2022. Specialty and cancer drugs will continue to drive expenditures along with the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSION: For 2022, we expect overall prescription drug spending to rise by 4.0% to 6.0%, whereas in clinics and hospitals we anticipate increases of 7.0% to 9.0% and 3.0% to 5.0%, respectively, compared to 2021. These national estimates of future pharmaceutical expenditure growth may not be representative of any particular health system because of the myriad of local factors that influence actual spending.

The Deadly Duo of COVID-19 and Cancer!

As of September 19, 2020, about 30 million people have been infected with the novel corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) globally, and the numbers are increasing at an alarming rate. The disease has a tremendous impact on every aspect of life, but one of the biggest, related to human health and medical sciences, is its effect on cancer. Nearly 2% of the total COVID-19 patients prior to May 2020 had cancer, and the statistics are quite frightening as the patient can be referred to as "doubly unfortunate" to suffer from cancer with the added misery of infection with COVID-19. Data regarding the present situation are scarce, so this review will focus on the deadly duo of COVID-19 and cancer. The focus is on molecular links between COVID-19 and cancer as inflammation, immunity, and the role of angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Complications may arise or severity may increase in cancer patients due to restrictions imposed by respective authorities as an effort to control COVID-19. The impact may vary from patient to patient and factors may include a delay in diagnosis, difficulty managing both cancer therapy and COVID-19 at same time, troubles in routine monitoring of cancer patients, and delays in urgent surgical procedures and patient care. The effect of anti-cancer agents on the condition of cancer patients suffering from COVID-19 and whether these anti-cancer agents can be repurposed for effective COVID-19 treatment are discussed. The review will be helpful in the management of deadly duo of COVID-19 and cancer.

Repurposing Anti-Cancer Drugs for COVID-19 Treatment.

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused catastrophic damage to human life across the globe along with social and financial hardships. According to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center, more than 41.3 million people worldwide have been infected, and more than 1,133,000 people have died as of October 22, 2020. At present, there is no available vaccine and a scarcity of efficacious therapies. However, there is tremendous ongoing effort towards identifying effective drugs and developing novel vaccines. Early data from Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trials (ACTT) sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and compassionate use study have shown promise for remdesivir, leading to emergency authorization by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. However, several randomized studies have now shown no benefit or increased adverse events associated with remdesivir treatment. Drug development is a time-intensive process and requires extensive safety and efficacy evaluations. In contrast, drug repurposing is a time-saving and cost-effective drug discovery strategy geared towards using existing drugs instead of de novo drug discovery. Treatments for cancer and COVID-19 often have similar goals of controlling inflammation, inhibiting cell division, and modulating the host microenvironment to control the disease. In this review, we focus on anti-cancer drugs that can potentially be repurposed for COVID-19 and are currently being tested in clinical trials.

The role of growth factor receptors in viral infections: An opportunity for drug repurposing against emerging viral diseases such as COVID-19?

Growth factor receptors are known to be involved in the process of viral infection. Many viruses not only use growth factor receptors to physically attach to the cell surface and internalize, but also divert receptor tyrosine kinase signaling in order to replicate. Thus, repurposing drugs that have initially been developed to target growth factor receptors and their signaling in cancer may prove to be a fast track to effective therapies against emerging new viral infections, including the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19).