Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42864384›Full record

Reviewnpj drug discovery2026

The rise of agentic AI in drug discovery from static tools to autonomous virtual scientists.

Donghai Zhao, Meijing Fang, Lexiao Mao, Yuchen Zhu, Qun Su, Hui Shi, Hongxia Xu, Lanqing Li, Tingjun Hou, Chang-Yu Hsieh

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in npj drug discovery, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Donghai Zhao *College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Meijing Fang *College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Lexiao Mao *College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Yuchen ZhuCollege of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Qun SuCollege of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Hui ShiCarbonSilicon AI Technology Co. Ltd, Hangzhou, China.
Hongxia XuCollege of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China. Einstein@zju.edu.cn.
Lanqing LiDepartment of Computer Science and Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. lanqingli1993@gmail.com.
Tingjun HouCollege of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China. tingjunhou@zju.edu.cn.
Chang-Yu HsiehCollege of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China. kimhsieh@zju.edu.cn.

Funding

National Key Research and Development Program of China 2024YFA1306400National Natural Science Foundation of China 22373085The Huadong Medicine Joint Fund of Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China LHDMZ25H300001The Zhejiang Province Pioneer Plan 2025C01189
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Driven by large language models, AI agents are transforming drug discovery, enabling AI to break free from task-specific tools and advance toward the vision of autonomous virtual scientists. This perspective reviews applications across the R&D lifecycle. To evaluate system maturity, we introduce a 6-level "Spectrum of Agentic Autonomy." We advocate for novel evaluation paradigms centered on full-chain traceability and outline adoption barriers, positioning AI agents as pragmatic scientist-in-the-loop co-pilots.

Identifiers

PMID42864384
PMCPMC13658227

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.