Artificial intelligence for the discovery of novel antimicrobial agents for emerging infectious diseases

[Display omitted] •The search for effective drugs to treat new and existing diseases is a laborious one requiring a large investment of capital, resources, and time.•The COVID-19 pandemic has been a painful reminder of the lack of development of new antimicrobial agents to treat emerging infectious diseases.•Artificial intelligence (AI) and other in silico techniques can drive a more efficient, cost-friendly approach to drug discovery.•AI techniques will pave the way towards targeted approaches for identifying lead candidates. The search for effective drugs to treat new and existing diseases is a laborious one requiring a large investment of capital, resources, and time. The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been a painful reminder of the lack of development of new antimicrobial agents to treat emerging infectious diseases. Artificial intelligence (AI) and other in silico techniques can drive a more efficient, cost-friendly approach to drug discovery by helping move potential candidates with better clinical tolerance forward in the pipeline. Several research teams have developed successful AI platforms for hit identification, lead generation, and lead optimization. In this review, we investigate the technologies at the forefront of spearheading an AI revolution in drug discovery and pharmaceutical sciences.