E185 ‘Leveraging AI and NLP for Smarter Drug Safety Monitoring’ with biologit’s Nicole Baker

Today’s guest is Nicole Baker, CEO at biologit. Founded around 2020, biologit – who was a finalist in the Best Application of AI in Healthcare at the 2024 AI Awards – has pioneered an innovative approach to pharmacovigilance, the practice of monitoring the effects of medical drugs after they have been licensed for use.

Nicole explains how she delived into the potential of AI at a time when the integration of AI into pharma was still in its emerging stages. Nicole recognised the cumbersome process of manually reviewing scientific articles for adverse drug events – a regulation within pharmacovigilance that demands consistency across all pharmaceutical companies.

Faced with the challenge of sifting through thousands of scientific articles, Nicole realised the untapped potential of AI in automating and refining this labour-intensive process. The idea was simple yet profound: leverage AI models to read and extract data from published scientific literature to flag adverse events accurately and efficiently. Thus, biologit was born.

Introducing innovative technology to a traditionally cautious industry is no small feat. Nicole and her team have faced long adoption cycles with potential clients, some spanning several years. This slow uptake is rooted in a pharmaceutical industry grappling with the understanding and implementation of AI.

biologit has addressed these challenges by working directly with pharmaceutical companies and clinical research organisations. Nicole emphasizes that, although AI systems can get things wrong, they offer a consistent level of reliability – free from the variances of human mood and fatigue, especially during the often-dreaded Monday morning reviews.

biologit utilises a sophisticated blend of machine learning and NLP (natural language processing) to manage a vast and culturally diverse database of scientific information. With over 65 million sources in multiple languages, the technology behind biologit isn’t just impressive – it’s essential. Machine learning allows for cost-effective data mining, while tools like machine translation make international scientific data comprehensible.

Despite the push for AI, biologit has taken a measured approach towards generative AI, acknowledging that pharma’s stringent regulatory environment demands compliance-ready models, a challenging prerequisite for the evolving landscape of generative AI.

Nicole’s experience and insight into the everyday challenges of pharmacovigilance have been integral in promoting trust among biologit’s diverse clientele. As companies venture into AI, they find reassurance in biologit’s steady hand and proven track record. They have secured relationships with both pharmaceutical companies and the service providers who support them, ensuring a deep industry footprint.

The achievements speak for themselves. biologit has maintained a 100% client retention rate and has expanded its reach with significant contracts, including with top ten pharma companies, showcasing their growing influence and trust in the industry.

As biologit continues its remarkable journey, the path forward appears promising. With consistent advancements and an evident demand for the unique services they offer, biologit is poised for success.

Nicole is not only revolutionizing her industry but is also championing diversity within her team. She expresses an eagerness to recruit female engineers into the fold, highlighting the company’s commitment to growth and inclusivity. As biologit looks towards the horizon of 2025 and beyond, the future is bright for this trailblazing company, leading the charge in AI-driven health solutions for the pharmaceutical world.