Innovation, Trust & the Human Factor
We've been talking to clients with our #AI and Analytics expert in residence Anthony Aarons FRSA. This was a hot topic at #JPM25 and will continue to impact people and change - which is where we come in.
AI is changing the game in life sciences – but not just in drug discovery. It’s reshaping how medicines are formulated, manufactured, tested, and monitored post-launch.
The shift isn’t about AI replacing human expertise.
It’s about augmenting decision-making, accelerating time to market, and ensuring better patient outcomes. Machine learning and predictive analytics are already helping:
🚀 Speeding up discovery by identifying drug candidates faster.
⚖️ Optimising formulation to improve efficacy and stability.
🏭 Enhancing manufacturing through automation and precision.
🔬 Strengthening quality control to reduce errors and variability.
📊 Revolutionising post-market surveillance by detecting safety signals earlier.
But let’s be clear – adoption isn’t the same as transformation. AI’s impact will depend on leadership teams making it work across their organisations, not just in isolated projects.
And here’s the real opportunity: AI should amplify human expertise, not replace it.
And as industry expert Brendan Shaw commented in Pharmaboard:
"Inserting even more humankind into pharma business models might prove to be good for profits and competitiveness as well as patient outcomes around the world. At a time when so many industries, organisations, and institutions across the world are losing people’s trust, the pharmaceutical industry has the chance to be a no-nonsense, open, and constructive example of credible social and business development in the 21st century."
Technology will continue to evolve, but the greatest asset in life sciences will always be its people. AI may power discovery, but trust, leadership and human ingenuity will define the future.
How is AI influencing your organisation and its culture? Are you seeing real impact, or just more complexity, concern and indecision? Are you leaving yourself open to uncontrolled and unknown risks?
Specialists in the human side of change, we partner with leading life science organisations to deliver deep change and cultural transformation.