Drug Discovery and Development

  • Home Drug Discovery and Development
  • Drug Discovery
  • Women in Pharma and Biotech
  • Oncology
  • Neurological Disease
  • Infectious Disease
  • Resources
    • Video features
    • Podcast
    • Voices
    • Webinars
  • Pharma 50
    • 2025 Pharma 50
    • 2024 Pharma 50
    • 2023 Pharma 50
    • 2022 Pharma 50
    • 2021 Pharma 50
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE

Why Big Pharma is partnering with startups as it becomes more data-driven

By Brian Buntz | March 7, 2022

lab research

Image courtesy of Pexels

Big Pharma’s ability to innovate has grown in recent years, and the industry’s increasing reliance on data could help it sustain momentum in the future.

While McKinsey notes that the industry has been relatively slow in adopting technologies such as AI and automation, the industry is growing more tech-savvy.

“The acceptance of data is picking up across the industry,” said David Harel, co-founder and president of CytoReason, an Israeli startup working with six of the top ten pharma companies.

At the same time, pharmaceutical research is headed in a much more collaborative direction where partnership and licensing are common, said Ed White, chief analyst and VP of IP and innovation research at Clarivate.

The pharma industry has traditionally had a large amount of data to tap in drug discovery and development, but the volume of data in the field is skyrocketing.

Data science techniques are thus vital to tame the chaos. “Data science is also becoming critical in clinical development, specifically, in Phase 2 trials where the true effect of the drug is shown,” Harel said. “A lot of capital has been invested in bringing the asset to that stage,” Harel said. “And still a lot more needs to be spent to bring it to the market and to understand who the patients would be that would benefit from it and how it would fare in the market against competition.”

Data science can also help pharma companies looking to win new indications for a drug already on the market. Biologics that neutralize inflammatory cytokines, for instance, could potentially offer benefits to patients suffering from multiple types of chronic immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.

With the quickly expanding use of data science in the industry, many Big Pharma companies are working with partners who can help them deploy data analytics, machine learning and other tools.

Harel said that the interaction between AI-focused startups and pharma companies is “valuable for both parties,” Harel said.

There are simply not enough data scientists available for pharma companies and biotechs to do such work internally.

While large pharma companies are uniquely positioned to launch Phase 3 trials and commercialize new drugs, smaller AI-specialist companies focusing on drug discovery and development are often more agile and innovative.

CytoReason, for instance, has developed a cell-centered computational model of human disease that can simulate disease in cells and tissues.

Computer models can also reduce pharma companies’ reliance on animal testing in drug development.

“There are things that smaller companies bring to the table that bigger companies often struggle to produce,” Harel said.


Filed Under: Data science
Tagged With: AI, artificial intelligence, Big Pharma, Cytoreason, startup
 

About The Author

Brian Buntz

As the pharma and biotech editor at WTWH Media, Brian has almost two decades of experience in B2B media, with a focus on healthcare and technology. While he has long maintained a keen interest in AI, more recently Brian has made making data analysis a central focus, and is exploring tools ranging from NLP and clustering to predictive analytics.

Throughout his 18-year tenure, Brian has covered an array of life science topics, including clinical trials, medical devices, and drug discovery and development. Prior to WTWH, he held the title of content director at Informa, where he focused on topics such as connected devices, cybersecurity, AI and Industry 4.0. A dedicated decade at UBM saw Brian providing in-depth coverage of the medical device sector. Engage with Brian on LinkedIn or drop him an email at bbuntz@wtwhmedia.com.

Related Articles Read More >

Abstract neural network
Inside IQVIA’s quest to build a multi-agent AI ‘dream team’ to transform clinical trials
Xaira and Verily co-founder ponders low-hanging fruit and blue-sky potential in FDA’s genAI rollout
Capgemini’s life-sciences lead says ROI and data security, not algorithms, will decide pharma’s AI future
Portrait of happy smiling mature middle aged professional business woman investor manager executive or lawyer attorney looking at camera at workplace working on laptop computer in office.
As FDA pushes agency-wide generative AI, pharma experience show similar tools can cut clinical study-report drafting time by 30% or more
“ddd
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest news and trends happening now in the drug discovery and development industry.

MEDTECH 100 INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.
Drug Discovery and Development
  • MassDevice
  • DeviceTalks
  • Medtech100 Index
  • Medical Design Sourcing
  • Medical Design & Outsourcing
  • Medical Tubing + Extrusion
  • Subscribe to our E-Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • R&D World
  • Drug Delivery Business News
  • Pharmaceutical Processing World

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search Drug Discovery & Development

  • Home Drug Discovery and Development
  • Drug Discovery
  • Women in Pharma and Biotech
  • Oncology
  • Neurological Disease
  • Infectious Disease
  • Resources
    • Video features
    • Podcast
    • Voices
    • Webinars
  • Pharma 50
    • 2025 Pharma 50
    • 2024 Pharma 50
    • 2023 Pharma 50
    • 2022 Pharma 50
    • 2021 Pharma 50
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE