Novo looks to Anthropic’s AI models to ‘supercharge’ drug development

Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk, formerly Novo, has teamed up with Anthropic, an AI company, to expedite the creation of new medicines through artificial intelligence. Mike Doustdar, Novo's president and CEO, unveiled the collaboration, stating it would "supercharge our R&D organization" and aid their goal of delivering groundbreaking health solutions to those with chronic diseases.

Through Anthropic's models and Claude Science, Novo aims to enhance scientific reasoning in their Research and Development (R&D) processes, potentially revolutionizing the understanding of human biology and drug mechanisms. According to Dario Amodei, co-founder and CEO of Anthropic, AI's growing capability could condense a century of medical progress into a decade.

By granting leading researchers access to dependable, powerful, and secure frontier models, AI might shorten research timelines, improve results, and discover medicines with a significant impact on human life. Novo's foray into AI-driven drug discovery follows their partnership with OpenAI's science GPT-Rosalind, which commenced in April.

The company utilized this advanced AI to analyze intricate data sets, identify potential drugs, and shorten the period between research and patient access. In 2024, Novo Nordisk Foundation joined forces with Nvidia and the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO) to establish the Danish Centre for AI Innovation. This center houses Gefion, Denmark's inaugural AI-ready supercomputer.

Anthropic has also ventured into life sciences, partnering with Bristol Myers Squibb in May 2026 to deploy Claude across their research, clinical development, manufacturing, commercial, and corporate operations.