novo nordisk The Danish pharmaceutical company announced Tuesday that it is partnering with OpenAI to “bring new and better treatment options to patients faster.”
The partnership will enable Novo to better leverage AI to analyze complex data sets, identify promising new drugs and reduce the time it takes for drugs to move from research to patient use, the company said in a statement.
“There are millions of people living with obesity and diabetes who need treatment options, and we know there are still undiscovered treatments that could change their lives,” said Novo CEO Mike Doesder. “By incorporating AI into daily operations, we will be able to analyze datasets at a scale never before possible, identify hidden patterns, and test hypotheses faster than ever before.”
“AI is reshaping industries and life sciences, and has the potential to help people live better and longer lives,” said Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI.
The stock rose 2.8% immediately after the opening bell.
This comes as pharmaceutical companies are increasingly turning to AI to improve their operations and long-running processes. While AI has the potential to discover new treatments, experts say the industry is still far from exploiting the technology’s full potential, and more direct benefits could be gained from using AI in other areas of drug discovery. For example, AI can help companies with the time-consuming task of identifying patients and facilities for clinical trials.
Ben van der Schaaf, a partner at Arthur D. Little, told CNBC last month that “we haven’t heard the last of it yet…In terms of how clinical trials are designed and conducted, a lot of them are still very traditional, with AI being leveraged in certain respects.” “AI is not yet an end-to-end component.”
Novo’s latest move builds on its current AI initiatives, which include: Nvidia The goal is to use the Gefion Sovereign AI supercomputer to “accelerate drug discovery efforts through innovative AI use cases.” The companies said last year that Novo aims to create customized AI models and agents that can be used in early research and clinical development.
Novo Nordisk faces competition from U.S. rivals Eli Lilly Aiming for an advantage in a lucrative weight loss market that has lost its first mover advantage. Novo is now trying to regain market share through Wigovy tablets and next-generation drugs launched in January.
