Digital twins for accelerating drug discovery and development: opportunities and challenges

Drug Discovery Today 2026 Open access

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Authors: Sai Phanindra Venkatapurapu, Lindsay E. Clegg, Andrzej Nowojewski, Holly Kimko, Damilola Olabode, Aarti Sawant-Basak, Karthick Vishwanathan
DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2026.104617
Cited by: 11
References: 62

Abstract

Digital twins can revolutionize drug development and personalized care by accelerating timelines, reducing costs and failure rates, and potentially improving the safety and efficacy of new therapies. In this review, we explore different applications of digital twins across the pharmaceutical value chain, from target discovery and preclinical research to clinical trials, regulatory review, manufacturing and post-market clinical practice. Key challenges, however, remain in data integration, model reliability, regulatory acceptance and data privacy. Overcoming these barriers will require innovation, transparency and collaborative efforts across the healthcare ecosystem to fully realize digital twin potential for patients, healthcare providers and the pharmaceutical industry.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Digital Transformation in Industry CAR-T cell therapy research Computational Drug Discovery Methods

Publication details

Journal / source
Drug Discovery Today
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Volume
31
Issue
2
Pages
104617–104617
Publication date
3 February 2026
Language
EN