This rapid turnaround from discovery to clinical trial is part of the reason that industry is excited about the potential for artificial intelligence​. Usually, the drug development pathway averages four and a half years to get to the same stage, noted one of the companies involved, Exscientia.

The drug is DSP-1181, which is a long-acting and potent serotonin 5-HT 1A ​ receptor agonist, which will enter Phase I trials in Japan for obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The drug candidate was created through the joint research of Japanese pharma company Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma and Exscientia, with the latter providing the Centaur Chemist AI platform for discovery.

Andrew Hopkins, CEO of Exscientia, stated: "We believe that this entry of DSP-1181, created using AI, into clinical studies is a key milestone in drug discovery.”​

While the company’s Twitter account​ suggested that it expects all drugs by the end of the decade to be developed using AI.

Several pharma companies have expressed their own confidence in this prospect, with both Sanofi​ and, more recently, Bayer​ entering multi-million drug development deals with the AI specialist.