Partnership aimed at accelerating drug discovery and development
Novo Nordisk has entered a strategic partnership with OpenAI to accelerate drug discovery and development, as pharmaceutical firms deepen their use of artificial intelligence to streamline research and operations.
The Danish drugmaker said the collaboration will aim to “bring new and better treatment options to patients faster,” using advanced AI tools to analyse large and complex datasets and identify promising drug candidates.
Expanding AI in drug discovery
Under the agreement, Novo Nordisk plans to integrate AI across multiple stages of its value chain, including early research, clinical development, and operational processes. The company said the technology will help uncover patterns that were previously difficult to detect and support faster hypothesis testing.
“Integrating AI in our everyday work gives us the ability to analyse datasets at a scale that was previously impossible, identify patterns we could not see, and test hypotheses faster than ever,” said CEO Mike Doustdar.
Sam Altman said AI is increasingly shaping life sciences, noting it “can help people live better, longer lives.”
The initiative reflects broader industry efforts to reduce the cost and time required to bring new medicines to market, a process that often spans more than a decade.
Building on recent AI investments
The partnership builds on Novo Nordisk’s earlier investments in AI infrastructure. In 2025, the company expanded its collaboration with Nvidia, using the Gefion sovereign AI supercomputer to develop customised models for research and clinical development, CNBC reported.
Industry analysts say such partnerships are becoming increasingly common as pharmaceutical companies seek to improve efficiency in areas such as clinical trial design and patient recruitment. However, experts caution that AI adoption remains uneven across the sector.
“We haven’t heard the last of it yet… in terms of how clinical trials get designed and run, a lot of it is still very traditional,” said Ben van der Schaaf, a partner at Arthur D. Little, told CNBC.
Competitive pressure in obesity market
The move comes as Novo Nordisk faces intensifying competition from Eli Lilly in the fast-growing market for obesity treatments.
Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster drugs, including Wegovy and Ozempic, have driven strong demand, but the company is working to maintain its position through next-generation therapies and new delivery formats, including an oral version of Wegovy launched in early 2026.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs have projected the global market for weight-loss drugs could exceed $100 billion annually by the early 2030s.
Industry shift accelerates
Across the industry, competitors have accelerated similar efforts. Eli Lilly has pursued multiple AI-driven initiatives, including a multibillion-dollar agreement with Insilico Medicine in 2026 to advance machine learning-based drug discovery.
Executives and analysts say these moves signal a structural shift in how medicines are developed. Speaking at the 2026 World Economic Forum, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said AI-driven platforms could significantly speed up research timelines, with major drugmakers already adopting advanced computational tools to design experiments and identify viable compounds more efficiently.
At the same time, industry observers caution that while AI is improving efficiency in areas such as clinical trial design and data analysis, its full potential in discovering entirely new medicines has yet to be realised, underscoring both the promise and the limitations of the technology.
