Novo Nordisk taps OpenAI

Novo Nordisk said on April 14 it will use OpenAI’s artificial intelligence tools to speed the search for new obesity drugs and other medicines. (reuters.com) (novonordisk.com) The Danish drugmaker said the partnership will apply OpenAI systems across drug discovery, manufacturing, supply chains, distribution and commercial operations, and it said employees will be trained to use the tools under human oversight and data-governance rules. (novonordisk.com) (usnews.com) Drug discovery starts with huge datasets, from lab results to patient records, and companies use software to spot patterns that humans would miss. Novo said OpenAI will help its teams analyze complex data and identify promising drug candidates faster. (reuters.com) (wsj.com) The timing lands in a tighter obesity-drug race. Reuters reported Novo has fallen behind Eli Lilly in the weight-loss market, and CNBC reported in February that Lilly had taken a lead in market share as its tirzepatide products gained ground. (reuters.com) (cnbc.com) Novo is also trying to widen its obesity franchise beyond injections. The Food and Drug Administration approved oral semaglutide, sold as Wegovy, in December 2025 as the first oral glucagon-like peptide-1 pill for chronic weight management. (ajmc.com) (prnewswire.com) Glucagon-like peptide-1 drugs mimic a gut hormone that helps people feel full and slows digestion. In the Phase 3 OASIS 4 trial, adults taking a 25 milligram oral semaglutide pill lost 13.6% of body weight on average at 64 weeks in the treatment-policy analysis, versus 2.2% with placebo. (nejm.org) (ajmc.com) OASIS 4 enrolled 307 adults with obesity or overweight plus at least one weight-related condition, excluded people with diabetes, and tested once-daily semaglutide tablets against placebo over 64 weeks of treatment. The trial also reported 16.6% mean weight loss among participants who stayed on treatment, compared with 2.7% for placebo. (clinicaltrials.gov) (novonordisk.com) Novo did not disclose financial terms of the OpenAI deal, and Bloomberg reported the agreement adds to the company’s earlier artificial intelligence work, including a research partnership with Nvidia announced in 2025. (bloomberg.com) (reuters.com) For Novo, the pitch is speed: use artificial intelligence to sift more data, move candidates through research faster, and defend a weight-loss business that is now expanding from weekly shots into daily pills. (novonordisk.com) (reuters.com)