French drugmaker Sanofi has pledged to become the first pharma company powered by artificial intelligence, announcing this week that it is "all in," launching an AI app called plai.
Developed in collaboration with AI platform company Aily Labs, plai will deliver real-time, reactive data interactions and give Sanofi 360-degree views across all its activities. The app collects internal data from various departments and uses AI to offer timely insights and personalized 'what if' scenarios. It assists decision-makers across Sanofi teams in making informed choices through a user-friendly digital interface.
Also revealing a company-wide digital transformation, Sanofi said its AI-powered tools will it make faster data-driven decisions from research to clinical operations to manufacturing and supply to business analysis.
In clinical operations, Sanofi aims to leverage plai's insights and digitization to optimize clinical trials. This includes identifying and establishing convenient trial sites for target groups, expanding participation opportunities for underrepresented communities in clinical research.
The drugmaker will also be transitioning manufacturing and supply processes from paper to electronic batch records, implementing digital and data-driven approaches to enhance asset utilization and boost productivity. Additionally, they are developing an in-house AI-enabled solution for yield optimization, leveraging past and current batch performance for consistently higher yields. Furthermore, plai integration within Sanofi's biopharma supply chain will enable accurate prediction of 80% of low inventory positions.
Sanofi's recent deal-making has reflected the company's AI push. In late 2021, the drugmaker acquired Amunix Pharmaceuticals, which uses AI to tailor-deliver medicines that become active only in tumor tissues while not harming normal ones. Shortly after, Sanofi inked a potential $5.2 billion deal with Exscientia to use AI-based capabilities to develop novel small molecule candidates across oncology and immunology. Most recently, in November 2022, Sanofi signed a potential $1.2 billion research collab with AI-driven drug discovery specialist Insilico Medicine to advance drug development candidates for up to six new targets.
