Successfully Scale Generative AI in Pharma

Review of Bain & Company Article | How to successfully scale generative AI in pharma | February 12, 2024

The generative artificial intelligence (AI) transformation is well underway. And pharma companies have high confidence in its value:
Already, 40% of executives say that they are baking expected savings into their 2024 budget, and 60% have set targets for cost savings or productivity boosts.

Nearly 60% say that they have moved beyond ideation and brainstorming to building out use cases. In fact, 55% reported that they expected to have multiple proof-of-concept or minimum viable product builds by the end of 2023.

54% of pharma companies have automated biomedical literature review solutions, and 46% are using AI as part of their process to find potential disease targets.

Now, generative AI is broadening the aperture of use cases with new opportunities across the value chain. Biomedical literature review and preclinical research remain among the most popular use case areas, although we’re also seeing high investment in IT, and competitive intelligence. Within these top areas, more than 60% of executives say that they have at least a proof of concept in development, and around 10% have already rolled out tools.

Commercial and research are the most popular investment areas for generative artificial intelligence in pharma. Early adopters have moved swiftly, often reaching a working pilot within about 8 weeks.

On Sales, most pharma companies already use AI to advance their Sales effectiveness:

• Full rollout or implementation: 4% 
• Active pilot resting or minimum viable product build: 27%
• Proof of concept or developed: 31% 
• Ideation or selected as a priority use case: 38%

The state of AI in pharma Classical data science and machine learning are nothing new to pharma executives who have been investing in productivity enhancements for years.

2024-2025 Outlook
With companies large and small making significant headway in realizing the benefits of generative AI, what will separate the best from the rest? Over the next 3-6 months, the companies that make the greatest progress will be the ones that move from isolated pilots to scaling winning use cases across the board.
These leaders will pull away from the pack with an operating model that supports fast growth at scale and prioritizes the most valuable opportunities. 

https://www.bain.com/insights/how-to-successfully-scale-generative-ai-in-pharma/

Summary: ​
40% of pharma companies are including expected savings from generative artificial intelligence in their 2024 budgets.
The majority of pharma companies (62%) already use AI in Sales.
​Leading pharma companies use generative AI to create personalized patient journeys and optimize their marketing campaigns