Global biopharma industry is witnessing a paradigm shift. Traditional methodologies are being transformed by artificial intelligence (AI), which is emerging as a key driver of change. AI is increasingly seen as indispensable for companies aiming to reduce costs and accelerate time-to-market.
Dr Purav Gandhi, CEO and founder, Healthark noted that the most visible and significant impact of AI is being seen in early-stage drug discovery. Traditional drug discovery processes are both expensive and time-consuming. AI algorithms solve these challenges by analyzing vast chemical libraries to predict molecule behaviour and identify potential drug candidates with high precision, significantly reducing the screening time.
Companies are also increasingly leveraging GenAI to design novel protein structures, effectively reducing the timeline from as long as 5 years to mere months. These benefits come along with an improved success rate in trials as well. As of late 2023, AI-developed drugs showed an 80-90% success rate in phase I trials versus 40% for traditional methods, he added.
With the Union government, placing AI at the centre of its strategy for tech leadership in sectors including life sciences, events like the AI Impact Summit being held in New Delhi from February16 to 20, 2026 and the just concluded BioAsia 2026 from February 17 and 18 at Hyderabad provide a pathway to safe, ethical adoption of it in biopharma research and healthcare.
Quoting a recent survey, Dr Gandhi told Pharmabiz at the recently concluded BioAsia 2026 at Hyderabad that AI in the pharmaceutical market will reach $13.77 billion by 2030, driven by its increased use for cost-effective drug development. AI is also transforming clinical trials. Patient recruitment, a common cause of delays, is being improved through AI platforms that analyze electronic health records (EHRs) and real-world data (RWD) to identify eligible patient populations faster and more accurately. Such tools have been found to improve enrollment rates by 65%, accelerate trial timelines by 30-50% and reduce cost by 40%. Therefore, AI plays major role in optimizing clinical trials and manufacturing.
In manufacturing, AI-powered predictive maintenance and digital twins are being used to identify and address bottlenecks in supply chain, predicting failures in advance, and ensuring compliance with established manufacturing standards. For the Indian biopharma sector, adopting these technologies is essential to remain globally competitive. The convergence of biological sciences and computational intelligence will shape the future of healthcare innovation, said Dr Gandhi. |