Integration planned with life sciences AI tool Rosalind

Partnerships with Novo Nordisk, Moderna underway

The OpenAI logo. [Getty Images]
The OpenAI logo. [Getty Images]

OpenAI is pushing deeper into drug development after acquiring an AI company focused on the pharmaceutical sector.

OpenAI said Tuesday (local time) it had acquired Orchestra Bio, an AI platform company that coordinates and manages drug development workflows.

OpenAI said it plans to integrate the platform with Rosalind, its AI tool for life sciences research. The combined system is designed to help researchers make new scientific discoveries and more quickly manage the processes needed to turn those findings into actual treatments. For example, human researchers and AI agents could collaborate to track and monitor clinical trials and research progress, or AI agents could analyze manufacturing errors and propose solutions when problems arise during prototype production.

OpenAI is also maintaining partnerships with major pharmaceutical companies.

The company has an R&D partnership with Novo Nordisk, the maker of the obesity drug Wegovy, and is collaborating with Moderna — which developed a COVID-19 vaccine — on AI technology.

OpenAI said it expects AI to shorten the drug development timeline, which currently averages 10 to 15 years from candidate discovery to approval, and to streamline complex workflows. "We will work with researchers and partners to enable more discoveries and help new drugs reach patients faster," the company said.


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