Data-savvy scientists like DANIEL COHEN of Pharnext are using ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE to figure out how to turn combinations of existing drugs into promising new therapies. Can they unclog Big Pharma’s drug pipeline?
![Finding New Cures In Old Drugs](https://magarticles.magzter.com/articles/12425/336937/5c9215ae6bcd5/Finding-New-Cures-In-Old-Drugs.jpg)
IN THE ELEGANT QUIET of the café at the Church of Sweden, a narrow Gothic-style building in Midtown Manhattan, Daniel Cohen is taking a break from explaining genetics. He moves toward the creaky piano positioned near the front door, sits down, and plays a flowing, flawless rendition of “Over the Rainbow.”
If human biology is the scientific equivalent of a complicated score, Cohen has learned how to navigate it like a virtuoso. Cohen was the driving force behind Généthon, the French laboratory that in December 1993 produced the first-ever “map” of the human genome. He essentially introduced Big Data and automation to the study of genomics, as he and his team demonstrated for the first time that it was possible to use super-fast computing to speed up the processing of DNA samples.
Scientists worldwide have built on Cohen’s insights, and Cohen himself, an MD with a Ph.D. in immunology, has gone on to success as a researcher and pharma executive. But a quarter-century later, genomics has yielded few of the kinds of paradigm-changing medical breakthroughs that many of its early innovators hoped for. Today, as chief executive and founder of Paris-based drug startup Pharnext, Cohen is striving to understand why that rainbow hasn’t led to a pot of gold.
“Any protein in the body has many different functions, not only one,” he says, returning from the piano to talk with me, “just as you are a person who has many functions in the population, not just one.” The phenomenon Cohen is describing is “pleiotropy,” the capacity of a single gene to have multiple, seemingly unrelated effects. It is one of the complexities of disease that has repeatedly frustrated medical researchers in their quest for therapies for the most stubborn illnesses.
This story is from the April 2019 edition of Fortune.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 2019 edition of Fortune.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
![Tech AI's Hidden Biases May Be Influencing What You Think. Here's What Should Be Done to Stop It - In less than two years, artificial intelligence has radically changed how many people write and find information.](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/12425/1786309/X38HnuAIu1724241729533/crp_Jeremy-Kahn-HarrisTristan-Harris-Center-for-Humane-Technology-OpenAI-bias-in-AI-book-Mastering-AI-A-Survival-Guide-to-Our-Superpowered-Future-AI-Jeremy-Kahn-San-Frabcisco-Silicon-Valley-Chatbots-tech-technology-science.jpg)
Tech AI's Hidden Biases May Be Influencing What You Think. Here's What Should Be Done to Stop It - In less than two years, artificial intelligence has radically changed how many people write and find information.
In less than two years, artificial intelligence has radically changed how many people write and find information. While searching for details about Supreme Court precedent or polishing a college essay, millions seek help from AI chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT or Anthropic's Claude.In his newly published book, Mastering AI: A Survival Guide to Our Superpowered Future, Fortune AI editor Jeremy Kahn explores this new tech-infused reality and what should be done to avert the inevitable pitfalls. In the following excerpt, he focuses on the little-recognized problem of subtle bias in AI and the potentially profound influence it can have on what users believe.
![A Return of the Entrepreneurial Spirit- As Japan finally emerges from a long period of slow growth, soy sauce producer Kikkoman continues its global advance.](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/12425/1786309/WOoHmHL4o1724240879330/crp_NikkeiStock-Japan-Yuzaburo-Mogi-Kikkoman-CEO-Japans-bubble-economy-collapsed-price-competition-Japan-Japans-economy-economy-global-economy-finances-entrepreneur.jpg)
A Return of the Entrepreneurial Spirit- As Japan finally emerges from a long period of slow growth, soy sauce producer Kikkoman continues its global advance.
In February 2024, the Nikkei Stock Average in Japan surpassed the record high that it set in 1990. To some, this peak signified that the country could finally put the "lost decades" of deflation and anemic growth behind. Yuzaburo Mogi, honorary CEO and chairman of the board of Kikkoman, is cautiously optimistic about this milestone. With a generational shift in motion, he sees Japan's leadership regaining some of its old dynamism and entrepreneurial spirit.
![The AI Hangover- For thirty-five years, Fortune has been tracking the world's largest companies in our Global 500 ranking.](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/12425/1786309/gbl-ZQXA41724240605083/crp_Sequoia-Nvidia-AI-Artificial-Intelligence-Open-AI-ChatGPT-worlds-largest-companies-global-business-Energy-prices-tech-companiestech-giants-Microsoft-Apple-Millennials-new-technologies-Sequoia-Capital-Roelof-Botha-Tech-conference.jpg)
The AI Hangover- For thirty-five years, Fortune has been tracking the world's largest companies in our Global 500 ranking.
For thirty-five years, Fortune has been tracking the world's largest companies in our Global 500 ranking. We recently sat down with the head of Sequoia Capital, Roelof Botha, at our Brainstorm Tech conference in Park City, Utah, and at greater length for this issue's cover story. As he told Fortune's Michal Lev-Ram: "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing." To learn how he's guiding the firm to sort winners from losers amid the noise and hype, see page 60.
![A NEW HOPE FOR DEMENTIA TREATMENT](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/12425/1786309/Nj-nClSMG1724245123309/A-NEW-HOPE-FOR-DEMENTIA-TREATMENT.jpg)
A NEW HOPE FOR DEMENTIA TREATMENT
Recent clinical trial results offer a promising path forward for patients suffering from dementia with Lewy bodies.
![Golf Gets a Tech Upgrade](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/12425/1786309/RIlR0az1Q1724244996502/GOLF-GETS-A-TECH-UPGRADE.jpg)
Golf Gets a Tech Upgrade
TGL, a new golf league, is partnering with the PGA TOUR to fuse advanced technology and live action.
![THE LILLY-PALOOZA](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/12425/1786309/YWm28TZZS1724244675767/THE-LILLYPALOOZA.jpg)
THE LILLY-PALOOZA
Not long ago, it looked like the best days of Eli Lilly were behind it. But tirzepatide, a drug for diabetes and obesity, has sent the 148-year-old pharma giant on a wild ride. It's now the ninth most valuable company in the world.
![INSIDE VW'S EV COMEBACK](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/12425/1786309/On-D163Ic1724244485048/INSIDE-VWS-EV-COMEBACK.jpg)
INSIDE VW'S EV COMEBACK
First Tesla outmaneuvered Volkswagen. Now Chinese EVs are challenging VW's dominance. The world's largest automaker was late to the EV revolution, but it's racing to catch up by reaching into its deep pockets and leveraging its massive scale.
![SEQUOIA IS A VC GIANT. CAN ROELOF BOTHA KEEP IT GROWING?](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/12425/1786309/jRpX8pwRU1724243932451/SEQUOIA-IS-A-VC-GIANT-CAN-ROELOF-BOTHA-KEEP-IT-GROWING.jpg)
SEQUOIA IS A VC GIANT. CAN ROELOF BOTHA KEEP IT GROWING?
The low-key investor leads the famed venture capital firm that helped launch Apple, Google, and Nvidia. To keep Sequoia's 50-year winning streak alive in a changing industry, he's uprooting old habits and planting new seeds.
![HOW BIG CAN ROBINHOOD ALLY GET?](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/12425/1786309/3u5CZLgzV1724243550637/HOW-BIG-CAN-ROBINHOOD-ALLY-GET.jpg)
HOW BIG CAN ROBINHOOD ALLY GET?
CEO VLAD TENEV AND THE FINTECH UPSTART HAVE CHANGED THE WAY AMERICANS INVEST. BUT TO MAKE SERIOUS MONEY, THEY'LL HAVE TO ELEVATE THEIR GAME.
![WHAT CAN BUSINESS EXPECT FROM THE NEXT PRESIDENT?](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/12425/1786309/_I8hLbRYQ1724243220694/WHAT-CAN-BUSINESS-EXPECT-FROM-THE-NEXT-PRESIDENT.jpg)
WHAT CAN BUSINESS EXPECT FROM THE NEXT PRESIDENT?
There's one thing Republicans and Democrats can agree on: higher tariffs on imports to America. Here are the challenges both parties' proposals will pose for corporate leaders.