HAMILTON – A McMaster University researcher has used AI to develop what could be a breakthrough antibiotic treatment for Crohn’s and inflammatory bowel disease.
Jon Stokes, along with his team at McMaster, and their partners at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has used AI to isolate a new antibiotic treatment in less than half the time it might normally take.
Stokes says developing a new antibiotic normally costs millions of dollars and takes several years but with AI sequencing, his lab completed the first steps in about six months and for roughly $60,000.
Wyatt Tessari L’Allié, founder of AI Governance and Safety Canada, says AI use cases like this are mainly good news, as long as people are still double checking the work done by AI.
Tessari L’Allié says there is no broad AI legislation across Canada that includes health care, adding medical use is regulated by Health Canada on a case-by-case basis.
Canada has one of the highest rates of inflammatory bowel disease globally, and there is currently no cure.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 5, 2025.
