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外刊跟读|人工智能正在让制药行业变得更好(2)

2026-03-03 21:57:27

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这是第10篇英文外刊跟读文章，欢迎跟随我们的脚步，读外刊，学英语，涨知识，收获成长与进步。

本期文章来自The Economist第20260110期

原标题：AI is transforming the pharma industry for the better.

人工智能正在让制药行业变得更好人工智能正在让制药行业变得更好

Selected Text Words Count: 406 words in 4 paragraphs.

Reprocessed by Kevin Yao

Paragraph 05

The technology is already changing how the pharma industry works. A new generation of AI-native biotech startups—particularly in America and China—is emerging. Pharma companies are increasingly forming alliances with AI-biotech firms, as well as with technology giants including Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Nvidia. And those big tech firms have their own ambitions in health. Isomorphic Labs, a spin-out from Google DeepMind, is trying to design entirely new therapeutic molecules from scratch inside a computer. Nvidia, too, has a generative-AI platform for drug discovery. Both firms are signing deals to offer design services to pharma companies. And in October Nvidia teamed up with Eli Lilly, the world’s most valuable drugmaker, to build the pharma industry’s most powerful supercomputer.

这项技术已经在改变制药行业的运作方式。新一代原生人工智能生物技术初创企业 —— 尤其是在美国和中国 —— 正在崛起。制药公司正日益与人工智能生物技术公司以及亚马逊、谷歌、微软和英伟达等科技巨头建立合作关系。而这些科技巨头在医疗领域也有自己的雄心。谷歌 DeepMind 分拆出来的 Isomorphic Labs 公司正试图在计算机内从零开始设计全新的治疗性分子。英伟达也拥有一个用于药物研发的生成式人工智能平台。两家公司都在签署协议，向制药公司提供设计服务。10月，英伟达与全球市值最高的制药企业礼来公司合作，打造制药行业最强大的超级计算机。

重点词汇解析

biotech startups:（n 短语）new companies focused on biotechnology 生物技术初创企业
例句：Many biotech startups are funded by venture capital firms.（许多生物技术初创企业由风险投资公司资助。）
particularly:（adv）especially; to a greater extent than usual 尤其；特别
例句：The plan is particularly popular among young people.（该计划在年轻人中尤其受欢迎。）；
同义词：especially, specifically
forming alliances:（v 短语）establishing partnerships or agreements 建立联盟；结成合作关系（原形 form an alliance）
例句：The two countries are forming an alliance to promote trade.（两国正建立联盟以促进贸易。）
technology giants:（n 短语）large and influential technology companies 科技巨头
例句：Technology giants like Apple and Samsung dominate the smartphone market.（苹果和三星等科技巨头主导着智能手机市场。）
ambitions:（n）strong desires to achieve something 雄心；抱负（原形 ambition）
例句：She has great ambitions to become a leading scientist.（她有成为顶尖科学家的远大抱负。）；
同义词：aspirations, goals
spin-out:（n）a company formed by splitting off part of an existing company 分拆公司；衍生公司
例句：The spin-out from the university has attracted significant investment.（这家从大学分拆出来的公司吸引了大量投资。）
therapeutic:（adj）relating to the treatment of disease 治疗性的；疗法的
例句：The plant has therapeutic properties that can relieve pain.（这种植物具有缓解疼痛的治疗功效。）；
同义词：curative, medicinal
from scratch:（adv 短语）starting from the beginning with no prior resources or foundation 从零开始；白手起家
例句：He built the company from scratch into a global enterprise.（他白手起家，将公司打造成了一家全球性企业。）
signing deals:（v 短语）entering into formal agreements 签署协议（原形 sign a deal）
例句：The company is signing deals with several international partners.（该公司正与多个国际合作伙伴签署协议。）
teamed up with:（v 短语）formed a team or partnership with 与…… 合作；联手（原形 team up with）
例句：The two companies teamed up with each other to develop new products.（两家公司相互合作开发新产品。）；
同义词：collaborated with, partnered with

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Paragraph 06

All this means that some of the value of drug discovery may be captured by tech giants. For now, pharma firms have many clear advantages, including heaps of data, scientists who know the field and long experience of shepherding new drugs through a maze of regulation. Over time, though, as parts of biology become more of a computational problem that can be solved with technology, such advantages could be eroded. Pharma firms may need to buy in AI expertise in the same way that they buy early-stage assets from biotech firms today.

所有这一切意味着，药物研发的部分价值可能会被科技巨头占据。目前来看，制药公司仍有许多明显优势，包括海量数据、精通该领域的科学家以及引导新药通过错综复杂的监管流程的长期经验。然而，随着时间的推移，当生物学的某些领域逐渐成为可通过技术解决的计算问题时，这些优势可能会被削弱。制药公司可能需要像如今从生物技术公司购买早期资产一样，引进人工智能专业知识。

重点词汇解析

captured:（v, 过去分词）acquired or gained (something) 占据；获取（原形 capture）
例句：The company captured a large share of the market with its new product.（该公司凭借其新产品占据了很大的市场份额。）；
同义词：gain, acquire
tech giants:（n 短语）large and powerful technology companies 科技巨头（同前文）
例句：Tech giants are investing heavily in artificial intelligence research.（科技巨头正在人工智能研究方面投入巨资。）
for now:（adv 短语）at present; temporarily 目前；暂时
例句：For now, we have to wait for the results of the experiment.（目前，我们不得不等待实验结果。）；
同义词：currently, at the moment
heaps of:（adj 短语）a large amount of 大量的；许多的（口语化表达，相当于 a lot of）
例句：She has heaps of work to do before the deadline.（截止日期前她有大量工作要做。）；
同义词：plenty of, a great deal of
shepherding:（v, 现在分词）guide or direct (someone or something) carefully 引导；带领（原形 shepherd）
例句：The manager shepherded the project through to completion.（经理引导这个项目直至完成。）
maze of regulation:（n 短语）a complex and confusing system of rules 错综复杂的监管流程；迷宫般的监管体系
例句：Small businesses often struggle to navigate the maze of regulation.（小企业往往难以应对错综复杂的监管流程。）
computational:（adj）relating to or involving computation or computers 计算的；计算机的
例句：Computational biology is a rapidly growing field.（计算生物学是一个快速发展的领域。）
eroded:（v, 过去分词）gradually destroy or weaken (something) 侵蚀；削弱（原形 erode）
例句：Inflation has eroded the purchasing power of consumers.（通货膨胀削弱了消费者的购买力。）；
同义词：undermine, weaken；
反义词：strengthen, reinforce
buy in:（v 短语）purchase or acquire (something, especially expertise or assets) 引进；购入（此处指引进专业知识）
例句：The company decided to buy in external expertise to solve the problem.（该公司决定引进外部专业知识来解决这个问题。）
expertise:（n）specialized knowledge or skill in a particular field 专业知识；专长
例句：We need someone with expertise in international law.（我们需要一个具有国际法专业知识的人。）；
同义词：specialism, proficiency

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Paragraph 07

As drug discovery becomes more efficient, governments will need to turn their attention to other potential bottlenecks in the system, such as regulation and trials. America’s Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency are themselves starting to use AI to screen the mountains of data they receive. As the number of drug candidates rises, faster regulatory reviews will be needed to avoid a logjam. Governments could also do more to encourage the sharing of patient data with AI companies in privacy-preserving ways so that AI models—and drug discovery—can improve.

随着药物研发变得更加高效，政府需要将注意力转向该体系中其他潜在的瓶颈，比如监管和试验环节。美国食品药品监督管理局和欧洲药品管理局本身也开始使用人工智能来筛选他们收到的海量数据。随着候选药物数量的增加，需要更快的监管审查以避免出现积压。政府还可以采取更多措施，鼓励以保护隐私的方式与人工智能公司共享患者数据，从而推动人工智能模型——以及药物研发 ——的改进。

重点词汇解析

screen:（v）examine (something) carefully to separate what is valuable or useful from what is not 筛选；审查
例句：The system screens applications to identify qualified candidates.（该系统筛选申请以确定合格的候选人。）；
同义词：filter, examine
mountains of data:（n 短语）an extremely large amount of data 海量数据；大量数据（比喻用法）
例句：The research generated mountains of data that need to be analyzed.（这项研究产生了海量需要分析的数据。）
regulatory reviews:（n 短语）official examinations of a product or process by a regulatory authority 监管审查
例句：The drug is awaiting regulatory reviews before it can be marketed.（该药物在上市前正在等待监管审查。）
logjam:（n）a situation where progress is blocked or delayed 积压；僵局
例句：There is a logjam of applications at the immigration office.（移民局有大量申请积压。）；
同义词：bottleneck, deadlock

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Paragraph 08

Patents, too, will need rethinking. Today, long patent lives let pharma firms recoup the investments they make, encouraging them to undertake the risky business of drug discovery. Yet if the costs and riskiness of innovation fall dramatically, then patent terms (which typically provide 10-15 years of market exclusivity) may need to become shorter. AI brings good news for drug innovation. But to ensure that it benefits both the makers and takers of new drugs, the industry and its regulators will need to adjust to this new reality.

专利制度也需要重新思考。如今，长期的专利保护期让制药公司能够收回投资，从而鼓励它们从事药物研发这一高风险业务。然而，如果创新的成本和风险大幅下降，那么专利期限（通常提供 10-15 年的市场独占期）可能需要缩短。人工智能为药物创新带来了好消息。但为了确保它能同时惠及新药的开发者和使用者，制药行业及其监管机构需要适应这一新现实。

重点词汇解析

patents:（n）government grants giving exclusive rights to make, use, or sell an invention 专利；专利权（原形 patent）
例句：The inventor applied for a patent for his new invention.（这位发明家为他的新发明申请了专利。）
rethinking:（n/v, 动名词）the process of considering something again in order to change or improve it 重新思考；反思
例句：The company is undergoing a rethink of its marketing strategy.（该公司正在重新思考其营销策略。）（名词用法）；
patent lives:（n 短语）the duration of a patent's validity 专利保护期
例句：The patent life of the drug is set to expire next year.（该药物的专利保护期将于明年到期。）
recoup:（v）regain (money spent or lost) 收回（成本、投资等）；弥补（损失）
例句：The company hopes to recoup its investment within three years.（该公司希望在三年内收回投资。）；同义词：recover, regain
undertake:（v）take on or commit to (a task, project, or activity) 从事；承担
例句：She undertook the responsibility of organizing the conference.（她承担了组织会议的责任。）；
同义词：take on, embark on
riskiness:（n）the quality of being likely to result in failure, harm, or loss 风险性；危险性（形容词 risky 的名词形式）
例句：The riskiness of the investment deterred many investors.（这项投资的风险性让许多投资者望而却步。）
innovation:（n）the introduction of new methods, ideas, or products 创新；革新
例句：The company is known for its constant innovation in technology.（该公司以其在技术上的不断创新而闻名。）；
同义词：invention, novelty
dramatically:（adv）in a striking or impressive way; greatly 大幅地；显著地；戏剧性地
例句：The company's profits have increased dramatically this year.（该公司今年的利润大幅增长。）；同义词：greatly, significantly
patent terms:（n 短语）the length of time a patent is valid 专利期限
例句：Patent terms vary from country to country.（不同国家的专利期限各不相同。）
market exclusivity:（n 短语）the right to be the sole seller of a product in a market 市场独占权；独家销售权
例句：The patent gives the company market exclusivity for 15 years.（该专利赋予该公司 15 年的市场独占权。）
regulators:（n）people or organizations that regulate something 监管机构；监管者（原形 regulator）
例句：Financial regulators are responsible for overseeing the banking industry.（金融监管机构负责监督银行业。）
adjust to:（v 短语）adapt to a new situation or condition 适应
例句：It took her some time to adjust to the new work environment.（她花了一些时间才适应新的工作环境。）；
同义词：adapt to, acclimate to

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考研雅思托福重点句子翻译与解析

语句 4

英文原文：For now, pharma firms have many clear advantages, including heaps of data, scientists who know the field and long experience of shepherding new drugs through a maze of regulation.
中文翻译：目前来看，制药公司仍有许多明显优势，包括海量数据、精通该领域的科学家以及引导新药通过错综复杂的监管流程的长期经验。
句式结构：主句核心结构是 “pharma firms have many clear advantages”，“including” 引导的介词短语作后置定语，其中包含三个并列成分（heaps of data, scientists..., long experience...），“who know the field” 是定语从句修饰 “scientists”，“of shepherding... through a maze of regulation” 是介词短语修饰 “long experience”。
考点分析：考研英语中常考查包含多个并列成分的复杂定语翻译、定语从句的嵌套；雅思托福中常考查 “for now”“heaps of”“maze of” 等短语，以及 “shepherd”“regulation” 等高频词汇。
仿写应用：可用于描述某行业的竞争优势，如 “For now, domestic brands have many unique advantages, including cost-effective products, a deep understanding of local consumers and rich experience of navigating the complex market environment.（目前来看，国产品牌有许多独特优势，包括高性价比的产品、对本土消费者的深刻理解以及应对复杂市场环境的丰富经验。）”
语句 5
英文原文：Yet if the costs and riskiness of innovation fall dramatically, then patent terms (which typically provide 10-15 years of market exclusivity) may need to become shorter.
中文翻译：然而，如果创新的成本和风险大幅下降，那么专利期限（通常提供 10-15 年的市场独占期）可能需要缩短。
句式结构：句首为让步转折词 “Yet”，主句是 “patent terms may need to become shorter”，“if” 引导条件状语从句，括号内的非限制性定语从句 “which typically provide... market exclusivity” 修饰 “patent terms”。
考点分析：考研英语中常考查条件状语从句的翻译、非限制性定语从句的处理；雅思托福中常考查 “dramatically”“market exclusivity” 等词汇，以及 “fall” 表示 “下降” 的用法（区别于 “decrease”“decline”）。
仿写应用：可用于描述政策调整的逻辑，如 “Yet if the environmental impact of the industry is reduced significantly, then the relevant regulatory standards (which are currently quite strict) may need to be relaxed appropriately.（然而，如果该行业的环境影响大幅降低，那么相关监管标准（目前相当严格）可能需要适当放宽。）”