Artificial intelligence is becoming a key part of the biopharma industry’s approach to drug development. Eli Lilly, Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), and Incyte announced on May 21 new agreements with AI-focused partners to further integrate machine learning into their operations.
BMS has partnered with Anthropic to use the company’s Claude model throughout its drug development workflow. The goal is to assist not only clinical development and manufacturing but also corporate and commercial functions. According to a company release, BMS wants Claude to help its data science and engineering teams "unlock data and expertise long trapped in the disconnected systems that define biopharma today." The company plans for Claude to streamline workflows, synthesize large volumes of data, improve engagement with regulators and commercial partners, and reduce employee workload.
Anthropic’s partnership with BMS follows its recent acquisition of startup Coefficient Bio for $400 million. Details about this deal remain limited.
Lilly has entered an agreement with Collaborative Drug Discovery (CDD) to integrate Lilly’s AI engine TuneLab into CDD Vault, a database managed by CDD for sharing chemical and biological data among biotechs working on drug projects. This integration will allow other companies using CDD Vault access to "decades of Lilly’s proprietary research data" for training their models. Barry Bunin, CEO and president of Collaborative Drug Discovery, said: "We believe that solving the most complex challenges in drug discovery will depend on innovative collaboration models that provide broad access to research data and empower chemists and biologists to make informed, data-driven decisions." Financial details were not disclosed by either BMS or Lilly regarding these deals.
Incyte also expanded its collaboration with Genesis Molecular AI by paying $120 million upfront for at least five new disease targets chosen by Incyte. Genesis may receive up to $232 million in milestones per program as well as royalties from any products reaching market.
Industry experts say artificial intelligence is playing an increasing role in both investment activity—such as Isomorphic Labs’ recent $2.1 billion funding round—and initial public offerings (IPOs). Tyrone Lam, chief business officer at GATC Health said: "The companies drawing the most serious investor attention right now, regardless if they’ve IPO’d, share a common characteristic: they’re using AI not just as a discovery accelerator, but as a risk communication tool."
