AI as a Game Changer

A revolution is underway in the pharmaceutical industry: drug developers are now using artificial intelligence (AI) at nearly every stage of development to make their processes faster and more efficient and to discover new active ingredients. At the same time, technology companies are increasingly entering drug development using AI. As a result, the rules of the game in drug development are changing significantly. Here’s a look behind the scenes of pharmaceutical research and production.

The Penzberg site of the Swiss pharmaceutical and diagnostics company Roche sits like an island in the Nonnenwald forest. It almost seems as if the plant wants to hide. Yet here, about 30 miles south of Munich, around 7,900 employees work on developing and producing new medicines and diagnostic tests. They now use artificial intelligence in many activities; just last year, all approximately 100,000 employees across the company were trained in handling AI. Most have a laptop, use digital tools, and store data in a secure cloud area with Google.