Novo Nordisk partners with OpenAI as hopes for AI drug discovery grow
Novo Nordisk is working with OpenAI to “bring new and better treatment options to patients more quickly,” the Danish drugmaker said on Tuesday.
The partnership will allow Novo to better use AI to analyze complex data sets, identify promising new drugs and shorten the time it takes a drug to move from the research phase to patient use, the company said in a statement.
“There are millions of people with obesity and diabetes who need treatment options, and we know there are still therapies waiting to be discovered that could change their lives,” said Mike Doustdar, CEO of Novo. “Integrating AI into our daily work gives us the ability to analyze data sets at a scale not previously possible, identify patterns we couldn’t, and test hypotheses faster than ever before.”
“AI is transforming industries and in life sciences it can help people live better, longer lives,” said Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI.
Shortly after the opening bell, the stock rose 2.8%.
This is because drug manufacturers are increasingly turning to AI to improve operations and tedious processes. While AI could discover new treatments, experts say the industry is still far from realizing the technology’s full potential and that more immediate benefits could arise from its use in other areas of drug development. For example, AI can help companies with the time-consuming process of identifying patients and clinical trial sites.
“We haven’t heard the last of it yet… in terms of the way clinical trials are designed and conducted, a lot of it is still very traditional, with certain points where AI is used,” Ben van der Schaaf, partner at Arthur D. Little, told CNBC last month. “AI is not yet an end-to-end component.”
Novo’s latest move builds on its current AI initiatives, which include collaboration with Nvidia to use the sovereign AI supercomputer Gefion to “accelerate drug discovery efforts through innovative AI use cases.” The companies announced last year that they plan to develop customized AI models and agents that Novo can use for early research and clinical development.
Novo Nordisk is in a race with its US rival Eli Lilly for dominance in the lucrative weight-loss market, where the company has lost its first-mover advantage. Novo is now trying to regain market share through its Wegovy pill and next-generation drugs, which it launched in January.
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