Drugmakers turn to AI as a practical way to reduce delays in clinical trials and regulatory submissions, even as artificial intelligence has yet to consistently deliver breakthrough drug molecules, industry executives said at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference.
Executives from large pharmaceutical companies and smaller biotech firms said AI is already proving valuable in areas such as identifying trial participants, selecting trial sites, and drafting regulatory documentation. These steps can shave weeks off processes that are typically labour-intensive and costly. Drugmakers turn to AI as development timelines stretch to nearly a decade and costs approach $2 billion per new drug.
Companies including Eli Lilly, which has partnered with Nvidia, are investing heavily in AI tools to improve overall development efficiency and potentially raise drug success rates. Consultancy McKinsey has estimated that agentic AI could lift clinical development productivity by 35% to 45% over the next five years.
Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries said it is applying AI across multiple functions to improve operational efficiency.
“Everything else that’s around that needs to be as efficient and as small as possible,” Teva CEO Richard Francis said. “This is where I think AI digitization, modernization, process improvement, all the unsexy stuff that we get actually quite excited about, makes a difference.”
Executives from AstraZeneca, Roche and Pfizer described managing thousands of regulatory documents spanning clinical, safety and manufacturing data. AstraZeneca CFO Aradhana Sarin said AI can reduce reliance on external contractors by improving document consistency across geographies.
Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is investing in AI tools to address inefficiencies in trial enrollment. General partner Jorge Conde described enrollment as a “leaky funnel” and said AI could improve patient outreach, screening and scheduling.
Swiss drugmaker Novartis used AI to accelerate site selection for a 14,000-patient cardiovascular trial of its cholesterol drug Leqvio.
“AI becomes augmenting intelligence, not artificial intelligence,” said Novartis Chief Medical Officer Shreeram Aradhye.
UK-based GSK said AI tools helped reduce late-stage trial costs and accelerate enrollment, while Genmab plans to use agentic AI to automate post-trial data analysis. Germany’s ITM said it has used AI to convert trial reports into FDA formats, potentially saving weeks of effort.
Amgen research chief Jay Bradner said AI is already delivering results in development and regulatory preparation.
“What everybody’s waiting for is the AI drug. When do I get the AI drug?” he said. “I actually think those molecules are in pipelines right now.”
