Why healthcare innovation needs more than AI

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In a world increasingly shaped by the potential of artificial intelligence, the life sciences industry may be one of the largest beneficiaries of its transformative potential. Artificial intelligence (AI) has already revolutionized elements of the drug discovery and development process, redefined research methodologies, enhanced disease detection and diagnosis, and paved the way for personalized medicine. Knowing that we have just begun to scratch the surface of AI’s potential, I am excited to see how its continued evolution will accelerate our collective mission of bringing novel medicines to patients in need. But I am also cognizant of its limitations.  

While we can outsource human tasks to AI, we simply cannot outsource humanity. AI is not “intelligent” when it comes to emotion, imagination, empathy, or qualities critical to creating and leading. Similarly, the spark of ingenuity and the recognition of serendipity exists solely within the bounds of the human experience. AI also lacks context and nuance—a critical component when considering the myriad factors needed to be successful in drug development, such as evaluating patient needs, defining new “white spaces” in an increasingly competitive environment, and other macro considerations.  

A case study for humanity 

In founding Tarsus, we set out to develop a treatment for a large, underdiagnosed eyelid disease, Demodex blepharitis (DB). Both the literature and our discussions with many eye care providers validated early on that this was a highly prevalent disease, with very low disease awareness, and no FDA-approved therapies. We needed to prove how significant the unmet need was and build a market that would support an entirely new category in eye care—and there were no benchmarks to assist us in establishing a path forward. 

Our early clinical trials were conducted in Mexico City. I recall sitting in a large eye hospital, packed with hundreds of patients and family members of all ages, while we worked with the eye care team to find patients with visible signs of DB. After many hours searching individual clinics for DB patients with very little return, we questioned our initial prevalence modeling and wondered whether this disease was, in fact, as large as we predicted.  

Recognizing a potential lost opportunity in front of me, our clinical team used the microphone for the waiting area. In Spanish, we asked if anyone in the waiting room—whether they were there to see a doctor or not—was experiencing eyelid irritation, redness, crusting, and itching (all signs of DB). To our surprise, a couple dozen people stood up and got in line to be seen by an eye care provider, and roughly half of them were diagnosed with DB during a routine exam.  

This serendipitous moment changed everything, and it would not have occurred without several very human elements: instinct, informed risk taking, and an inherent sense of how to connect and engage with other humans. After seeing hundreds of people line up over the next few months, we knew we had uncovered a unique opportunity to potentially serve millions of patients living with DB.  

Active listening and human connections   

Our Mexico City experience further reinforced that AI is no match for the type of insights and perspectives that can be gained from human-centric approaches like active listening and empathy. These very personal interactions inform the work we do every day across every aspect of our business—from clinical development to strategic marketing to building an award-winning culture, and so much more.  More recently, as we listened carefully to the thousands of doctors now prescribing our treatment for DB and doing careful eyelid exams, we identified another large, underdiagnosed eye disease, ocular rosacea, that now presents a promising opportunity in our pipeline to potentially serve millions more. 

The human ability to adapt, relate, and emotionally connect with other humans, and our aptitude to make ethical and rational decisions has ensured that people come first in medicine and science. And that will not change. 

It is clear we are on the cusp of a technology-enabled revolution that will improve how—and how quickly—we can deliver innovative new treatments to patients. And we are finding numerous ways to strategically leverage AI. But our collective success as an industry will be dictated by our ability to maintain a nimble, empathetic, and uniquely human-centered approach.  

Bobak Azamian, MD, PhD is CEO and chairman of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals. 

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