AstraZeneca: AI Increases Success Chances for New Drugs

Artificial intelligence is significantly enhancing the pharmaceutical industry's ability to develop new drugs and make more effective decisions throughout the research process, according to AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot. He explained that AI improves productivity by enabling faster and smarter drug design. Soriot's comments come at a time when investors are questioning the return on massive AI investments in sectors like healthcare.

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The importance of artificial intelligence in our industry concerns improving productivity, in the way we design a new drug – we can now do it faster and smarter.

Soriot highlighted that AstraZeneca is already seeing practical applications of AI across its drug discovery and development spectrum. AI assists in identifying novel drug targets and optimizing active pharmaceutical ingredients by removing characteristics that might cause side effects. "AI helps us achieve this," Soriot stated in a CNBC interview, emphasizing the technology's role in refining drug compounds.

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We can identify new 'targets,' but also optimize active ingredients, removing characteristics that may cause side effects. AI helps us achieve this.

Furthermore, AI is proving crucial in helping the company make better decisions about which drug candidates warrant progression into later development stages. Through its partnership with Tempus AI, AstraZeneca employs AI models to analyze vast datasets, aiming to improve the drug discovery pipeline and increase the probability of success in late-stage clinical trials. Soriot noted the substantial cost of clinical trials, often reaching $300 to $500 million, making even a small increase in success rates a significant productivity gain.

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We have developed an AI 'agent' that gathers all this data, clinical data and laboratory data, and helps us predict the probability of success of a Phase 3 clinical trial.

"We have developed an AI 'agent' that gathers all this data, clinical data and laboratory data, and helps us predict the probability of success of a Phase 3 clinical trial," Soriot explained. He stressed that by improving the likelihood of success, AI offers a "huge" boost to productivity, justifying the significant investments made in the technology.

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We spend $300, $400, or even $500 million on a clinical trial. If we increase the probability of success, then the improvement in productivity is huge.