#50 - Scaling drug discovery with quantum physics and AI - Maximilien Levesque - Aqemia

Three years after the 2022 "crypto winter" severely damaged public confidence in these technologies (even among healthcare leaders), the term Web3 is conspicuously absent from the current healthtech space. So, what happened? And where do we really stand with the adoption of these technologies within our healthcare systems? Anca Petre is perfectly positioned to give us answers. A trained pharmacist, she has been exploring Web3 and its healthcare applications for over eight years, speaking on the international stage to educate and share key insights on using these technologies to improve health outcomes. Her assessment is stark: while the core value proposition of Web3 in health remains intact—offering breakthroughs in traceability, security, and patient control over data—its adoption by key players is still marginal. In this episode, Anca shares her analysis of the current landscape, her belief in the untapped potential of these technologies, and a preview of what tomorrow's medical research could look like, powered by decentralised science. Tune in for a conversation with a true health geek, one with her feet firmly planted in the realities of today's systems! Timeline: 00:00:00 - Anca’s journey at the interface of healthcare, Web3, and content creation 00:04:14 - Today’s value proposition and use cases for Web3 in healthcare 00:07:02 - Why we hear less about Web3 in healthcare these days 00:13:51 - Making the Web3 user experience flawless in healthcare 00:16:50 - Where Web3 did not live up to its promises in healthcare 00:18:32 - The interplays of Web3 and AI in healthcare 00:24:39 - Healthcare innovation and its dependencies on systemic changes 00:33:49 - Paving a new way for medical research with decentralised science What we also talked about with Anca: Jim Nasr MedShake Studio ChatGPT Metaverse NFTs Decentralised Autonomous Organisation (DAO) DeSci Nordics We cited with Anca some of the past episodes of the series: #10 - Applying blockchain technology to healthcare - Eberhard Scheuer - dHealth Foundation As suggested by Anca during the episode, you can learn more about Web3 and its applications in healthcare through the podcast Tech Anatomy that she is hosting and producing. For further information on the topic, she recommends consulting IEEE.org, following Allie K. Miller’s work, and looking at Molecule.xyz in case you want to dive deeper into decentralised science. You can follow Anca’s activities on LinkedIn, X, and YouTube, and discover the other podcasts she is producing for healthcare clients with MedShake Studio! ✉️ If you want to give me feedback on the episode or suggest potential guests, contact me over LinkedIn or via email! ⭐️ And if you liked the episode, please share it, subscribe to the podcast, and leave a 5-star review on streaming platforms! 🙏 You can also support my work by doing a PayPal donation @ImpulsePodcast! 👍 Lastly, don’t forget to follow our activities on LinkedIn and our website!

To discover the whole episode, type "#51 - Bridging web3 and healthcare - Anca Petre - Tech Anatomy" on your preferred streaming platform.

What's the link between quantum physics, AI, and drug discovery? Maximilien Levesque might be the perfect person to answer. A former theoretical physicist, he realised his research could transform drug development by fundamentally understanding how molecules interact at the atomic level. In 2019, he co-founded Aqemia with Emmanuelle Martiano Rolland to turn that vision into reality. Their mission is bold: to design new molecules, atom by atom, capable of binding "undruggable" therapeutic targets. Unlike AI models that base themselves on existing compounds, Aqemia's generative engine creates novel structures, opening up a new universe of possibilities. In this episode, Maximilien pulls back the curtain on one of TechBio's most promising startups. With passion and clarity, he breaks down their approach to drug design, explaining how these "digitally-native" compounds go from the numeric world to real-world testing. A conversation to understand the ins and outs of an ongoing revolution in the pharmaceutical industry! Timeline: 00:00:00 - Maximilien’s background as a researcher in mathematics and quantum physics 00:03:46 - What drew Maximilien to drug discovery 00:05:43 - The link between quantum physics and drug discovery 00:10:27 - Aqemia’s technology to design new molecules atom-by-atom 00:18:36 - Aqemia’s pipeline and ongoing preclinical programs 00:20:27 - The difference between AI-based drug discovery and physics-based drug discovery 00:27:55 - Striking a balance between internal development programs and external collaborations 00:32:35 - Aqemia’s approach to talent recruitment at the interface of biology, mathematics, and computer science 00:34:23 - Maximilien’s wish to enter clinical trials in 2026 What we also talked about with Maximilien: HIMSS Europe École Normale Supérieur (ENS) Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (CEA) Ornstein-Zernike equation American Institute of Physics Sanofi Institut Gustave Roussy We cited with Maximilien some of the past episodes of the series: #40 - Cracking biology through AI - JP Vert - Owkin #33 - Building the next TechBio venture - Mati Gill - AION Labs #13 - Catalyzing drug discovery using organ-on-a-chip models - Bas Trietsch - Mimetas You can learn more about Maximilien’s publications here and prompt ChatGPT, as he suggested, to find out more about quantum physics, AI, and their applications in the field of drug discovery! You can reach out to Maximilien via LinkedIn and follow Aqemia’s activities on their website and LinkedIn page! ✉️ If you want to give me feedback on the episode or suggest potential guests, contact me over LinkedIn or via email! ⭐️ And if you liked the episode, please share it, subscribe to the podcast, and leave a 5-star review on streaming platforms! 🙏 You can also support my work by doing a PayPal donation @ImpulsePodcast! 👍 Lastly, don’t forget to follow our activities on LinkedIn and our website!

To discover the whole episode, type "#50 - Scaling drug discovery with quantum physics and AI - Maximilien Levesque - Aqemia" on your preferred streaming platform.

Can we learn from extreme cancer survivors to develop new treatments? This is the bet that Nicolas Wolikow and his team at Cure51 are making. Backed by the world's top cancer centers and specialists, they work around the clock to build the largest-ever health dataset of patients who defied the odds—people diagnosed with stage 4 cancer who were given a few months to live, yet survived more than five years. The goal is to understand what makes their biology unique and what characterises their incredible response to the treatments they received. A unique approach to identify new therapeutic targets and enrich our arsenal against a disease whose incidence continues to grow day by day. In this episode, Nicolas lifts the veil on the rigorous method they follow to achieve this feat, from the collection of clinical and multi-omics data to the identification of these targets and their validation in clinical trials. A method to reverse-engineer cancer survival, founded on the latest progress in computational biology, and whose success depends on the close collaboration between patients, hospitals, and industrial partners! Timeline: 00:00:00 - Nicolas’ background as an entrepreneur at the interface of healthcare, technology, and digital innovation 00:06:45 - Understanding the mechanisms behind cancer thanks to exceptional survivors 00:10:24 - Stories of patients in full remission after a stage 4 cancer diagnosis 00:12:21 - Building the platform to host the largest dataset of cancer survivors ever made 00:14:36 - Making sense of the survivors’ data to identify underlying biological mechanisms 00:19:28 - Early findings and novel therapeutic targets investigated so far 00:28:18 - The economic model behind Cure51 00:30:45 - Convincing hospitals and health systems to join Cure51’s mission What we also talked about with Nicolas: HLTH Europe Cancer stages Chemotherapy Rosalind Franklin Variant.bio We cited with Nicolas some of the past episodes of the series: #40 - Cracking biology through AI - JP Vert - Owkin As Nicolas mentioned during the episode, you can learn more about Cure51’s activities on their website, and follow their latest news on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook. You can reach out to Nicolas via LinkedIn and find more details about the ROSALIND study in this abstract. To hear Camille Moses’ incredible story as a cancer survivor, we invite you to listen to her testimonial on the Project Purple podcast. ✉️ If you want to give me feedback on the episode or suggest potential guests, contact me over LinkedIn or via email! ⭐️ And if you liked the episode, please share it, subscribe to the podcast, and leave a 5-star review on streaming platforms! 🙏 You can also support my work by doing a PayPal donation @ImpulsePodcast! 👍 Lastly, don’t forget to follow our activities on LinkedIn and our website!

To discover the whole episode, type "#49 - Reverse-engineering cancer survival - Nicolas Wolikow - Cure51" on your preferred streaming platform.

Disclaimer: Blythe and I both work for Roche; nevertheless, all opinions expressed in this episode are our own and do not necessarily represent the position of our employer. What's really behind the term "real-world data" in clinical science? And what can it actually be used for? I asked Blythe Adamson of Flatiron Health to find out the answer. It turns out real-world data is all the medical data collected in the “real world”, meaning outside of any clinical trial. In other words, it's the vast majority of medical data that exists. This includes everything from the results of blood tests, scans, and vaccinations to doctors' handwritten notes. While the idea of using it to develop new treatments seems obvious, the reality is far from simple. Because access to this data is disparate and varies from one country to another. Because the diversity of their modality renders their interpretation complex. And because until recently, we did not have the computational tools to make it work. But now, in the age of AI and mass digitalisation of healthcare, all of this is changing at lightning speed. Drawing on her expertise at the intersection of epidemiology, data science, and health policy, Blythe walks us through the immense challenges and opportunities of real-world data, and how they are poised to revolutionise the development of tomorrow's therapies. An episode to understand precision medicine and the central role of real-world evidence! Timeline: 00:00:00 - Blythe’s background at the interface of epidemiology, data science, and health policy 00:09:33 - The power of real-world data in medicine and drug development 00:17:11 - The barriers to accessing and leveraging real-world data at scale 00:20:26 - Two examples where AI can help make sense of real-world data 00:25:46 - Traditionally overlooked real-world data modalities in medicine 00:27:52 - Breaking down language barriers across real-world datasets 00:35:10 - Some predictions on the next AI-driven breakthroughs in oncology What we also talked about with Blythe: Operation Warp Speed Resilience Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) Trusted Research Environments De-identification American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) American Heart Association European Society of Cardiology We cited with Blythe some of the past episodes of the series: #40 - Cracking biology through AI - JP Vert - Owkin As Blythe mentioned during the episode, you can visit her blog at blytheadamson.com for more information about her work. The book recommended by Blythe is Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by David Quammen. You can get in touch with Blythe via LinkedIn, and follow the activities of Flatiron Health on LinkedIn, X, and Instagram. ✉️ If you want to give me feedback on the episode or suggest potential guests, contact me over LinkedIn or via email! ⭐️ And if you liked the episode, please share it, subscribe to the podcast, and leave a 5-star review on streaming platforms! 🙏 You can also support my work by doing a PayPal donation @ImpulsePodcast! 👍 Lastly, don’t forget to follow our activities on LinkedIn and our website!

To discover the whole episode, type "#48 - Driving precision medicine with real-world data - Blythe Adamson - Flatiron Health" on your preferred streaming platform.

How can we solve the puzzle of regulating AI in healthcare? This is the question that Dr. Ricardo Baptista Leite and his team at HealthAI - The Global Agency for Responsible AI in Health ask themselves every day. Their goal? To help international organizations, governments, and local stakeholders strike a balance between regulation and access to the latest innovation in the field. A thorny equation, considering the speed of progress in AI and the time it takes to establish a regulatory framework that, by definition, applies in the long term. With passion and enthusiasm, Ricardo shares the approach they are taking to achieve their mission: by fostering a global community to share best practices and adverse events, by building tailored in-country mechanisms aligned with international guidelines, and by curating the most comprehensive directory of registered AI solutions, which countries and innovators can consider. One thing seems certain: we must evaluate these new technologies from a risk-benefit perspective, drawing on the well-known methods of post-market monitoring that have been applied to pharmaceutical products for decades. A way to remain critical of their use, grant patients and healthcare professionals access to them, and to drive this transformative shift with confidence and security. Timeline: 00:00:00 - Ricardo’s background at the interface of medicine, research, and health policy 00:04:55 - Why we are at a turning point in healthcare 00:08:33 - HealthAI’s role in translating international guidelines for AI use in healthcare to local realities 00:13:08 - Bridging long-term regulation and rapid technological progress 00:21:55 - Curating the right AI solutions in healthcare 00:25:55 - Building trust and adoption among clinicians and patients 00:32:26 - The parallel between elevators and AI in healthcare 00:37:30 - The potential of AI for predictive population health management What we also talked about with Ricardo: HIMSS Europe Software as a Medical Device (SaMD) Stéphanie Allassonniere Agentic AI Ambient AI Elisha Otis As Ricardo mentioned during the episode, you can learn more about HealthAI here and follow their activities on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube. The books recommended in the episode include AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can’t, and How to Tell the Difference by Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor, Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by Peter Attia, and Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity by Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson. We both strongly recommend the newsletter Ground Truths by Dr. Eric Topol, a reference for staying up to date on the latest advances in medicine. You can get in touch with Ricardo via LinkedIn. ✉️ If you want to give me feedback on the episode or suggest potential guests, contact me over LinkedIn or via email! ⭐️ And if you liked the episode, please share it, subscribe to the podcast, and leave a 5-star review on streaming platforms! 🙏 You can also support my work by doing a PayPal donation @ImpulsePodcast! 👍 Lastly, don’t forget to follow our activities on LinkedIn and our website!

To discover the whole episode, type "#47 - Pushing responsible AI in health - Dr. Ricardo Baptista Leite - HealthAI" on your preferred streaming platform.