Leaders in artificial intelligence-themed clinical trials

The future of the pharmaceutical industry will be shaped by a series of disruptive themes, with artificial intelligence (AI) being one of the themes that will have a significant impact on clinical trial companies.

The pharmaceutical industry is a highly regulated industry and therefore can be slow to adopt new technologies and modernize. However, the pharmaceutical industry is realizing the benefits that AI can bring, and it is now being used in different areas across the entire value chain. Its use in the pharmaceutical space is expected to continue to increase over the next five years. The applications of AI in industry are numerous, with the potential to transform key aspects of industry and drive innovation. Uses include data management, drug discovery, and clinical trial design.

Covid-19 has led to an unprecedented acceleration of digital transformation in the pharmaceutical industry. Pharmaceutical suppliers and pharmaceutical and medical device companies have had to adapt quickly to the many obstacles and demands of the pandemic. For example, with the need to rapidly develop Covid-19 therapies, AI has successfully repurposed existing drugs to target the virus. This will likely lead to increased confidence in the use of AI tools, and more pharmaceutical companies will integrate AI into their future strategies. According to GlobalData’s 2020 Digital Transformation and Emerging Technologies Survey, nearly two-thirds of pharma professionals expected AI to be the top disruptive technology in pharma over the past two coming years.

However, not all companies are equal when it comes to their capabilities and investments in the key themes that matter most to their industry. Understanding how companies are positioned and ranked in the most important themes can be a key indicator of their future earnings potential and relative competitive position.

According to GlobalData’s topical research report, Artificial Intelligence in Drug Discovery, the top users are: AstraZeneca, Takeda, Pfizer, Sanofi, Novartis, Roche, Johnson & Johnson, GSK, Merck & Co, Bristol Myers Squibb, Bayer, Lilly, Merck and Astellas Pharma.

Top-ranked company insights

Astra Zeneca

In May 2019, AstraZeneca partnered with BenevolentAI to develop treatments for CKD and IPF. In December 2019, he collaborated with DeepMatter to focus on improving the productivity of compound synthesis using AI-enabled digital technologies. He then partnered with Renalytix AI in August 2020 to develop and launch precision medicine strategies for cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases.

Takeda

Takeda has also strategically collaborated with AI vendors in drug development. In October 2019, Takeda collaborated with Prometheus Biosciences to discover, develop and commercialize novel therapies for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The collaboration combines Prometheus Biosciences’ proprietary bioinformatics discovery platform and advanced machine learning (ML) techniques with Takeda’s expertise to discover and advance up to three targeted therapies and companion diagnostics. Another successful partnership took place in January 2020 with Recursion. In less than 18 months, its collaboration with Takeda in rare diseases had resulted in the evaluation of preclinical and clinical molecules in more than 60 unique indications, with new therapeutic candidates identified for several diseases. In May 2020, Recursion successfully licensed TAK-733 (REC-4881), a clinical-stage MEK inhibitor, and is developing it to treat hereditary cancer syndrome and related areas of oncology.

Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS)

In July 2020, BMS collaborated with ReviveMed to use its AI platform to better understand the mechanisms of response and resistance to immunotherapies in cancer patients. Another successful collaboration took place in October 2020 with ML-focused drug discovery and development company, Insitro. The five-year collaboration is focused on the discovery and development of novel therapies for the treatment of ALS and FTD. In the same year, BMS signed a collaboration with Sensyne Health to apply ML to research into rare blood diseases and disease progression within the broader group of myeloproliferative neoplasms.

To better understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the industry, access GlobalData’s latest topical research report on Artificial Intelligence in Drug Discovery.