Science in a New Way: Investment, Drugs, and the Alliance with Artificial Intelligence

One of the main events of the outgoing week is the exhibition “Chemistry-2026”, which ended in Moscow. It became a platform for discussing not only economic forecasts, but also the most pressing issues of modern science: from the immortality pill to green agrochemistry and human cooperation with artificial intelligence. About the main topics of the last exhibition - in our material.

Investments will return to growth

Investments in fixed assets in the Russian chemical industry from 2027 are expected to return to growth, increasing by 17% to 2.7 trillion rubles against 2.6 trillion rubles in 2026. This forecast was shared with journalists at the exhibition by the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov.

He noted that in 2026 there will be “some decline” against the background of record investments in 2025.

“During the nine months of this year, 14 investment projects were implemented. These investment projects are mainly implemented in the segments of small and medium-tonnage chemicals, products made of polymeric materials and mineral fertilizers, the minister said, noting that the total investment in the projects completed since the beginning of the year is more than 10 billion rubles.

The volume of consumption of chemical products in 2026 in value terms is estimated at 10 trillion rubles.

AI and Science: Make Friends or Replace?

Doctor of Chemical Sciences, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Head of the Laboratory, Head of Strategy and Development of the IOH RAS Valentin Anannikov expressed his opinion on the prospects of artificial intelligence in science.

“I would listen to those who, together with the forecast, explain what it is based on and where the author’s confidence ends. A serious prognosis has a specific task, timeframe and conditions under which it can be verified. “The statements ‘AI will destroy everything’ and ‘AI will replace man in everything’ are too easy to pronounce and too difficult to substantiate and verify,” he said.

According to Valentin Ananikov, it is more useful for a scientist to ask the question: what opportunities does technology open, what risks does it create and how will we evaluate the result?

“Let us take a close example from chemistry. Imagine that we are looking for a catalyst that will produce the right substance with less energy and less waste. Possible combinations of metals, molecules and reaction conditions are extremely numerous. Here, AI can help to choose promising directions, offer an unexpected hypothesis, link the results of various experiments. Such cooperation can expand the space of scientific research. But the proposed option has yet to be obtained in the laboratory, to test its properties, to understand the reasons for success or failure. Nature has no obligation to accept even the most convincing response of artificial intelligence. Therefore, it is essential for science to preserve the entire chain: hypothesis, experiment, independent verification, explanation. More and more of its stages can be automated; the requirements for reliability from this only increase, said Valentin Anannikov.

But there is another side to the coin. “I am concerned about a very specific danger: a person may become accustomed to receiving ready-made answers and gradually lose the habit of asking his own questions. This is especially important in education. The future researcher needs to be able to notice the error, understand the initial data and continue working when the usual tool does not help. Confident tone of the program should not be a substitute for proof. Therefore, the union of human and AI, I consider one of the most interesting areas of development of science. At the same time, the very word “friend” sounds a little lighthearted. We need to build a culture of collaboration: learn to embrace new opportunities, understand limitations, and be responsible for decisions. Declaring a person unnecessary in advance is as short-sighted as abandoning a powerful research tool. The more powerful our digital assistant is, the higher our own scientific culture should be. This is the principle I would put in the basis of this cooperation, the scientist concluded.

Is there a chance to invent a pill for immortality?

Special attention was paid to pharmaceutical chemistry, green agrochemistry and prospects for cooperation with artificial intelligence.

“The current trends in pharmacology and pharmaceutical chemistry are encouraging. A very large layer of organic molecules, which are used in new drugs, become the basis for the treatment of a variety of diseases, said Ferstat.

The professor gave an example: a unique HIV drug has recently appeared, which allows patients to be given an injection every six months. There's a tablet form.

“10 years ago it seemed unrealistic, unattainable. Now this is becoming a completely ordinary phenomenon, the scientist stressed.

The main efforts of chemists are aimed not only at finding the molecule, but also at making it easier, more accessible and scalable for a wide range of patients.

Answering the question of journalists about the interaction of science and business, Leonid Ferstat noted: as a rule, pharmaceutical companies themselves offer a request to scientific institutions. This is driven by economics - developing a new drug is very expensive.

“In our laboratories, there are many interesting developments that lie on the shelves and are waiting for their time. Pharmaceutical companies have a request for cancer drugs, but there is no request for vasodilators. Although we have a lot of potential molecules that can replace existing analogues much more efficiently, he said.

The scientist expressed hope that in the future the trend will reverse and pharmaceutical companies will cooperate more closely with scientists.

Green Agrochemistry: Fertility and Safety

Doctor of Chemical Sciences, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Director of IOH RAS Alexander Terentyev dispelled the myth that the fertility of Russian lands has deteriorated sharply due to chemistry.

“The fertility of the land has not deteriorated, that is for sure. It hasn't changed, it's even improved. If you look at the wheat yield in the area of 1960 and now, then it was about a ton per hectare, now it is about three tons per hectare.

According to the scientist, this was achieved through fertilizers, plant protection products (herbicides, insecticides, fungicides), as well as selection and genetics.

“Overseas, in order to achieve high yields, all plants undergo between 4 and 15 chemical treatments during the development period. All the green products we eat – all these salads – there are so many of them, because a lot of chemistry is used, Terentyev said.

He noticed that if you come across a salad without a wormhole or an absolutely smooth apple, you must understand that a huge amount of funds were used there.

“I always prefer our apples with small black dots, because if they are eaten by a fungus or beetle, at least there is not a lot of chemistry there,” he added.

At the same time, Alexander Terentyev stressed: without chemistry, high yields cannot be achieved, and the population cannot be fed.

Young scientists: there is a chance to become famous

Doctor of Chemical Sciences, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Deputy Director of IOH RAS Alexander Dilman spoke about young people in science. According to him, now is a very good time for scientific research: they are in demand, and the country has a shortage of highly qualified scientific personnel.

“It is all in the hands of the young scientists themselves. The scientific and educational stage is very important, because then people who have received scientific education can go to applied areas and apply in practice the knowledge they will receive, said Dilman.

He also answered the question of whether large companies are ready to accept young scientists: “In large companies there is a shortage, a large demand for highly skilled labor. As the overall industry is now growing, demand will be sustainable.”.