An AI Pulse Check

We are at an interesting crossroads in the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) and its application across a number of industries. This reality is perhaps none more apparent than in the biopharmaceutical and healthcare sectors.

Three pieces of coverage in this month’s issue of Pharmaceutical Executive explore this tipping point in AI. Each article presents a differing view of the space but all meet in the middle in drawing similar end conclusions: New advances in predictive analytics, generative AI, machine learning, virtual/augmented reality, robotic automation, you name it, are making their way into many aspects of biopharma and healthcare daily practice.

“AI will revolutionize the way we work, requiring us to learn new skills and undergo training to adapt to new processes and systems,” Abid Rahman, senior vice president of innovation at EVERSANA, told Pharm Exec editor and tech columnist Mike Hollan. “With the rise of AI agents and copilots, using AI will soon be a competitive advantage and an integral part of everyone’s job.”

The question, however, as Hollan underscores, is will the perceived usefulness of these tools—and the many possibilities they have opened up already—ultimately catch on in the world of medicine? Or, perhaps more appropriately, is it time to really examine if they genuinely have caught on? And that’s coupled, of course, with the lingering concerns and debates around ethics and privacy that surround AI.

For his part, Rahman, in speaking with Hollan, points to several areas where he believes AI is making a tangible impact in pharma, including drug discovery and R&D, manufacturing and supply chain, marketing and commercialization, and even in drug pricing strategies. He also highlights, specifically, AI’s potential benefits for product launch and brand campaign tactics and decision-making.

Related to product launch as well, Natalie Harb, in a guest article, makes the case for deploying generative AI as a “launch assistant.” Instead of marketing teams updating documents and evidence packages by the hundreds of pages, large language models can optimize the search and retrieval process.

Efforts of the sci-fi variety are expanding even more in healthcare, as columnist Bruce Liu, in a roundup of recent AI activity in Asia, notes the use of brain-computer interfaces that provide direct communication between the brain and external devices, such as computers and robotic limbs.

Should all of this still be considered “hype” at this stage of the game? Are we in another bubble destined to burst? In trying to find the answers, the future is all about the now.

Mike Hennessy Jr. is President and CEO of MJH Life Sciences