A team of University of Toronto researchers is using artificial intelligence to hunt for a potential Ebola cure.

Software from U of T startup Chematria Inc. has the ability to think like a human chemist, analyzing the effectiveness of existing and hypothetical drugs against disease. Unlike a human, the program can complete this process in days instead of years, saving time and millions of dollars. Now, scientists are hoping the advanced technology can tackle the global Ebola crisis.

What we are attempting would have been considered science fiction, until now, said Chematria CEO, Abraham Heifets.

The testing of pharmaceuticals is normally a physical science we still have to build every prototype we test, said Heifets, resulting in hundreds of thousands of failed experiments for each success. Chematria can do that research virtually, making it 150 times faster than conventional methods, said Heifets. The tech has been applied to malaria, leukemia and Multiple Sclerosis, but in the face of a growing pandemic, creators last week launched an Ebola project.

If there is a drug out there for (Ebola), theres a very good chance well find it, Heifets told the Star.

Operating on the largest supercomputer in Canada, made by IBM, Chematria is programmed with millions of data points that look at things like drug patents and how different drugs work. The Ebola project is targeting a claw-like mechanism the virus uses to latch onto cells.

What our search then does is takes this target and imagines millions of hypothetical medicines that would fit in that claw and stop it from working, said Heifets. Theres also a chance it will discover existing medicines that can accomplish that task. There have been no hits so far.

In a few weeks, the software will provide scientists with a list of compounds ranked from 1 to 10 million in order of how well they work against Ebola. Previous projects have produced promising results, according to Heifets. The search for a drug used to combat the progression of MS, for example, resulted in nine strong candidates and is now in the animal testing phase, he said.

Even if the program cant find a cure for Ebola, Heifets said the technology has positive implications for responding to pandemics.

Humanity as a whole has better options now than hoping and praying well find something in 10 years.

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University of Toronto startup searches for Ebola cure