Novo Nordisk, Microsoft Partner up to Advance Drug Discovery and Development

Novo Nordisk and Microsoft have entered a new strategic collaboration to combine the technology business' computational services, cloud, and artificial intelligence (AI) with the pharma company's drug discovery, development, and data science capabilities.

Through the partnership, Microsoft will be providing AI technology and foundational science models, working with Novo Nordisk’s data scientists and domain specialists to accelerate Novo Nordisk’s R&D.

Specifically, AI models developing from the partnership will be applied to various use cases:

• One use case is focused on automated summarization and analysis of information from sources, including literature, patents, scientific reports, and discussion forums in order to gain novel scientific insights.
• A second use case looks to develop models that predict a person’s risk of developing atherosclerosis. The AI will also be used to identify novel targets and establish biomarkers of the disease.

“We are very excited about this new partnership that allows us to work closely together with key experts from Microsoft as we look to expand our digital science and AI capabilities,” says Lars Fogh Iversen, SVP of digital science & innovation at Novo Nordisk. “Together, we are on a path to enable faster and scaled use of AI in drug discovery, ultimately leading to more breakthrough innovations and efficiency gain to better serve the needs of patients.”