NOVARTIS
This is because drug discovery is a resource-intensive, time-demanding process in which success is far from guaranteed. The industry average from initial research to an approved medicine is around 10 to 15 years and the majority of candidate drugs do not reach the market. Bernd sees AI as a technology that can improve the speed and productivity of that journey – but only if it is applied to the right problems, with the right data behind it.
In early-stage research, Novartis uses AI and machine learning to support target identification and validation – helping scientists integrate evidence from a variety of sources to identify disease drivers and strengthen confidence in the targets they choose to pursue.
“ The knowledge about what can work and what cannot work is still very much
62 August 2026