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    Factbox: Pharma sector doubles down on AI amid hopes of slashing costs, timelines

    Picture of Avidity Biosciences logoAvidity Biosciences
    15/01/2026 16:29
    Jan 15 (Reuters) - Pharmaceutical companies are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to accelerate R&D, betting on new modeling tools and automated labs to unlock efficiency gains across their pipeline.

Industry forecasts suggest that the use of machine-learning to optimize target discovery, design molecules and streamline clinical-trial planning could halve early-stage development timelines and costs within the next three to five years.

Below are the major AI-related partnerships announced from 2025 through early 2026:


    Deal announcementPartnersDeal size (as reported)Primary objective
    Jan 7, 2025PostEra × Pfizer PFE.N$610 mln potential; incl. $12 mln upfrontExpand Pfizer–PostEra AI Lab and add ADC payload‑design program
    Jan 13, 2025IQVIA IQV.N × NVIDIA NVDA.OUndisclosedBuild custom AI models/agents to automate R&D–commercial workflows
    Feb 20, 2025Incyte INCY.O × Genesis Therapeutics$30 mln upfront; up to $295 mln/target milestones + royaltiesUse GEMS platform to design small molecules for Incyte targets
    Mar 3, 2025Kyndryl KD.N × Microsoft MSFT.OUndisclosedDeploy Dragon Copilot to reduce documentation burden
    Mar 18, 2025GE HealthCare GEHC.O × NVIDIAUndisclosedDevelop autonomous X‑ray and ultrasound workflows
    Mar 25, 2025Cleveland Clinic × G42UndisclosedForm task force to accelerate AI use in care and operations
    Apr 16, 2025Kenvue KVUE.N × MicrosoftUndisclosed (5‑yr)Modernize operations using Azure, genAI, and digital twins
    Apr 29, 2025Eli Lilly LLY.N × Creyon Bio$13 mln upfront; >$1 bln milestonesUse AI engine to design improved RNA‑targeted oligos
    May 21, 2025Genentech (Roche) ROG.S × Orionis Biosciences$105 mln upfront; >$2 bln milestones + royaltiesDiscover monovalent molecular glues using Allo‑Glue platform
    Jun 11, 2025Novo Nordisk NOVOb.CO × NVIDIA × DCAI (Gefion)UndisclosedBuild bespoke AI models using Gefion supercomputer
    Jun 13, 2025AstraZeneca AZN.L × CSPC Pharmaceutical 1093.HK$110 mln upfront; up to $1.62 bln dev milestones; up to $3.6 bln sales milestonesDiscover oral drug candidates; AZ holds global licensing rights
    Jun 29–30, 2025Pfizer × XtalPi 2228.HKUndisclosedExpand to next‑gen physics + AI modelling platform
    Jul 2, 2025AstraZeneca × Modella AIUndisclosed (multi‑year)Use multimodal AI models to speed oncology development
    Aug 14, 2025Eli Lilly × Superluminal MedicinesUp to $1.3 bln + royaltiesApply AI GPCR platform to undisclosed targets
    Sep 1, 2025University of Oxford × Ellison Institute£118 mln fundingUse AI + challenge models to map correlates of immunity
    Sep 23, 2025Merck KGaA MRCG.DE × Siemens SIEGn.DEUndisclosed (MoU)Connect R&D and manufacturing through Siemens digital platforms
    Oct 14, 2025Takeda 4502.T × Nabla BioDouble‑digit millions upfront + >$1 bln milestonesUse JAM AI model to design antibodies and multispecifics
    Oct 26–27, 2025Novartis NOVN.S × Avidity Biosciences RNA.O~$12 bln cashAcquire Avidity to strengthen xRNA and neuromuscular portfolio
    Oct 28, 2025Eli Lilly × NVIDIAUndisclosed (>1,000 GPUs)Build large‑scale AI supercomputer for R&D
    Oct 28, 2025Johnson & Johnson MedTech JNJ.N × NVIDIAUndisclosedUse Isaac + Omniverse to simulate OR workflows
    Nov 10, 2025Eli Lilly × Insilico Medicine>$100 mln potential + royaltiesUse Pharma.AI to design small‑molecule candidates
    Nov 20, 2025Merck KGaA × Valo HealthOver $3 bln potentialUse Valo’s human‑data AI to identify targets and speed preclinical work
    Dec 9, 2025Novartis × Relation Therapeutics$55 mln upfront + up to $1.7 bln milestonesUse AI + multi‑omics to find first‑in‑class targets
    Jan 7, 2026GSK GSK.L × HelixUndisclosedProvide GSK exome + longitudinal data for target discovery
    Jan 8, 2026GSK × Noetik$50 mln upfront + near‑term milestonesLicense AI virtual‑cell models for cancer research
    Jan 8, 2026Pfizer × BoltzUndisclosedFine‑tune Boltz AI models with Pfizer data
    Jan 9, 2026Schrodinger SDGR.O × Eli LillyUndisclosedIntegrate TuneLab models into LiveDesign
    Jan 12, 2026NVIDIA × Thermo Fisher TMO.NUndisclosedPair NVIDIA AI with lab instruments for automation
    Jan 12, 2026NVIDIA × Eli LillyUp to $1 bln over 5 yearsCreate closed-loop AI + robotics discovery lab
    Jan 13, 2026Illumina ILMN.O × AstraZeneca × Merck MRK.N × Eli LillyUndisclosedLaunch Billion Cell Atlas for large‑scale AI training
    Jan 13, 2026AstraZeneca acquires Modella AIUndisclosedAcquire Modella to deploy foundation models across oncology R&D
    

 (Reporting by Kamal Choudhury and Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)

 ((Kamal.Choudhury@thomsonreuters.com;))

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