How AI Is Changing Drug Discovery and What It Will Take to Unlock Its Full Potential

It can take more than a decade to bring a new medicine to patients. That timeline has pushed researchers to look for new ways to work faster and learn more from data. AI is now a growing part of that effort.

Scientists from Amgen and leading academic institutions recently came together to film Meeting the Moment, a roundtable conversation exploring how AI is shaping drug discovery and what it will take for the field to reach its full potential. The discussion highlights both progress and ongoing challenges.

Connecting the Full Lifecycle

The discussion emphasizes that drug discovery is not a straight path. It is a cycle of designing, testing and refining molecules over time.

The conversation also highlights the growing importance of connecting insights across the full process. Many of the hardest questions, such as safety and real-world effectiveness, span multiple stages of research.

The panelists also point to a larger shift happening across the industry. Drug discovery increasingly depends on bringing together biology, chemistry, data science and automation to better understand how molecules behave over time and across complex biological systems.

Amgen is investing in that direction through initiatives such as the recent South San Francisco lab expansion, which brings multiple scientific disciplines and technologies into a more connected research environment.

The expanded labs are designed to support the Design, Make, Test, Analyze (DMTA) process that sits at the heart of drug discovery. By bringing together chemistry, biology, automation and data science, teams can generate insights faster, learn from each iteration, and better connect decisions across the research process.

What Comes Next

Meeting the Moment makes one point clear: the future of AI in drug discovery will be shaped not only by better algorithms, but also by high-quality data, deeper biological understanding, and stronger connections across the research process. AI can help scientists work faster and uncover new insights, but technology alone will not be enough. Real progress will continue to depend on the expertise, creativity and judgment of scientists working alongside these tools to better understand disease and develop medicines for patients.

Ultimately, this work is about more than technology. It is about patients. At Amgen, our mission is to serve patients by transforming the promise of science and biotechnology into therapies that have the power to restore health or save lives. AI, automation and advanced data capabilities are important tools in that effort. By helping scientists generate insights, make more informed decisions and better understand complex biology, these technologies have the potential to support the discovery and development of future medicines aligned with our mission to serve patients.

To watch the full discussion, visit the Amgen YouTube Science Playlist.