Abstract:
Neglected diseases remain a significant threat to global health, particularly in low income countries, where limited resources and funding hinder drug discovery and
treatment efforts. These diseases, which disproportionately affect impoverished
populations, often receive little attention from the pharmaceutical industry due to their
lack of profitability. Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop innovative and
cost-effective approaches to accelerate the discovery of therapeutic solutions. Recent
advances in computational science, particularly deep learning, have demonstrated
remarkable potential in expediting drug discovery by predicting chemical activity and
identifying new drug candidates efficiently. This study aims to leverage cutting-edge
deep learning techniques to develop models capable of accurately predicting chemical
activity and uncovering novel therapeutic options for neglected diseases such as Chagas
disease. The research focuses on exploring various deep learning architectures, including
convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and recurrent neural networks (RNNs), as well as
incorporating advanced data pre-processing techniques to improve model accuracy and
performance. Large and complex datasets containing drug activity information for
neglected diseases will be utilized to train and evaluate the proposed models. The study
will assess the impact of model choice, computational resources, and data quality on the
speed and precision of drug candidate identification. By optimizing these factors, the
research aims to create a framework for faster and more cost-effective drug discovery
processes. The outcomes of this study have the potential to significantly enhance the
pipeline for identifying treatments for neglected diseases, reducing the time and cost
associated with drug development. Ultimately, this research could contribute to
alleviating the suffering of millions of people affected by these overlooked diseases,
offering hope for better health outcomes in underserved populations.