Big pharma increases AI drug investment

Eli Lilly, Sanofi, AstraZeneca, Novartis and Johnson & Johnson have kept adding money, partners and internal resources to artificial-intelligence drug research over the past two years, according to company releases, securities filings and recent fundraising announcements. The spending has taken several forms: multiyear discovery alliances, internal generative-AI programs, and venture rounds for specialist companies selling models and platforms to drugmakers. Bloomberg on May 18 reported that large pharmaceutical groups are still increasing those commitments even as the industry has yet to produce a broad set of late-stage clinical wins from AI-originated medicines. Company statements reviewed Monday show the push has continued into 2026. ### Which companies have signed the biggest recent AI discovery deals? Isomorphic Labs said on January 7, 2024 that it signed strategic research collaborations with Eli Lilly and Novartis that together had the potential to be worth nearly $3 billion, excluding royalties. The Alphabet-backed company said both agreements were multi-target small-molecule programs with upfront and milestone payments. Novartis said on February 18, 2025 that it expanded the Isomorphic collaboration by adding as many as three more research programs on the same financial terms as the original agreement. Isomorphic said the expansion followed one year of work under the first deal. AstraZeneca said on June 13, 2025 that it entered a strategic collaboration with CSPC Pharmaceuticals that uses CSPC’s AI-driven discovery platform, and on January 30, 2026 it announced a second CSPC agreement covering obesity and type 2 diabetes programs. (isomorphiclabs.com) AstraZeneca said the 2026 agreement initially covers four programs within an eight-program collaboration and includes access to CSPC’s AI-driven peptide discovery platform. (isomorphiclabs.com) ### How are drugmakers using AI beyond early discovery? Sanofi said on May 21, 2024 that it teamed with Formation Bio and OpenAI in what it called a first-in-class AI collaboration focused on software to advance drug development. Sanofi said the effort would combine its data with Formation Bio’s development platform and OpenAI’s capabilities to speed work across the development process. (astrazeneca.com) Eli Lilly said on June 25, 2024 that it partnered with OpenAI to use generative AI to invent novel antimicrobials for drug-resistant pathogens. The Indianapolis-based company said the collaboration would apply OpenAI models to help identify candidate molecules against antimicrobial resistance. Novo Nordisk said in a Bloomberg report published April 13, 2026 that it would integrate OpenAI’s artificial intelligence across the company to accelerate drug development. (sanofi.com) Bloomberg said Novo did not disclose financial terms and that the agreement added to an existing AI effort that included a prior Nvidia collaboration. ### What does the funding pipeline look like for AI drug specialists? (investor.lilly.com) Isomorphic Labs said on March 31, 2025 that it raised $600 million in its first external funding round, led by Thrive Capital with participation from GV and Alphabet. The London-based company said the money would support programs across multiple therapeutic areas and drug modalities. Isomorphic Labs said again on May 12, 2026 that it raised $2.1 billion in a Series B round led by Thrive Capital, with Alphabet, GV, MGX, Temasek, CapitalG and the UK Sovereign AI Fund also participating. (bloomberg.com) The company said the financing would expand its capital base as it advances its AI drug-design engine. Recursion said on August 8, 2024 that it agreed to acquire Exscientia in an all-stock transaction valued at about $688 million. (isomorphiclabs.com) The deal combined two publicly traded AI-focused drug developers as larger pharmaceutical groups continued to buy access to external platforms rather than build every tool internally. ### Are large pharma companies also building internal AI programs? Pfizer told shareholders in its 2025 proxy statement that artificial intelligence and emerging technologies are reshaping the discovery, development and delivery of medicines and vaccines, and that it sees itself as positioned as a leader in the field. (isomorphiclabs.com) The statement did not assign a standalone AI budget, but it described AI as part of the company’s operating agenda. (recursion.com) Sanofi’s research materials say the company is using AI across the R&D value chain, including pre-discovery, discovery and pre-clinical development. AstraZeneca has separately described AI advances and collaborations, including work with Stanford Medicine, as part of its drug-discovery strategy. Lilly’s 2025 annual report said the company remains focused on generating new portfolio opportunities and accelerating one of the industry’s largest pipelines, while a November 2025 management reshuffle added roles aimed at pipeline acceleration. (sec.gov) The filing does not break out AI spending separately, but Lilly has continued to pair internal R&D with external AI partnerships. (sanofi.com) ### What concrete milestones should investors and researchers watch next? Recursion said on May 6, 2026 that it had reported first-quarter results, was advancing partnered and wholly owned programs, and expected board changes at its annual meeting in June 2026. The company said early clinical data for REC-1245 in solid tumors supported ongoing dose escalation. Novartis said on April 28, 2026 that it had delivered first-quarter results while continuing broader R&D expansion, and Lilly’s investor page lists quarterly financial disclosures for 2026 that investors can use to track acquired IPR&D charges and development milestones. (sec.gov) Those updates, together with future company partnership announcements, are the next public checkpoints for how much capital large drugmakers keep directing toward AI-enabled discovery. (novartis.com) (ir.recursion.com)