The three parties plan to ‘bring together data, software and tuned models to develop custom, purpose-built solutions across the drug development lifecycle’, according to the press release.

This first-of-a-kind collaboration will enable Sanofi to provide access to proprietary data for the development of AI models, marking part of the company’s plan to become the first biopharma company powered by AI at scale. OpenAI is expected to contribute access to its cutting-edge AI capabilities, while Formation Bio will contribute its extensive engineering resources, as well as its experience at the intersection of the pharma and AI industries.

Paul Hudson, chief executive officer at Sanofi, commented: “This unique collaboration is the next significant step in our journey to becoming a pharmaceutical company substantially powered by AI. Next generation, first-of-its-kind AI model customisations will be an important foundation in our efforts to shape the future of drug development for pharma and for the many patients waiting for innovative treatments.”

Brad Lightcap, chief operating officer at OpenAI, added: “There is massive potential for AI to accelerate drug development. We are excited to collaborate with Sanofi and Formation Bio to help patients and their families by bringing new medicines to market.”

Benjamine Liu, co-founder and CEO at Formation Bio, stated: “I firmly believe that by combining our strengths, Sanofi, OpenAI and Formation Bio can reimagine drug development in the pharma industry. By creating and implementing customised AI agents and models designed for our industry, companies like Sanofi and Formation Bio can begin to scale with unprecedented productivity and transform the pace at which we bring new medicines to patients.”