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J&J sees AI halving the time to generate drug development leads
NEW YORK, April 27 (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N), opens new tab is using artificial intelligence to slash by half the time it takes to generate new leads for developing drugs, the company's chief information officer said on Monday. Discovering new products outright and bringing them to market using AI is not yet possible, but J&J is using the new technology to screen the "potential universe" for promising chemical compounds or biologics, CIO Jim Swanson said at the Reuters Momentum AI event â in New York. "That's still a ways away, but we can optimize," Swanson said. "We've cut our lead optimization time in half." The New Jersey-based pharmaceutical and medical device company has been working toward a more-focused approach to AI, honing in on core processes like AI-enabled products, drug development and supply chain optimization. "We're trying to cure cancer," Swanson said. "We need every tool that we can leverage to be able to do that." AI is also useful in â manufacturing, he said. The technology has been helping to determine when to add solvent at the appropriate time and temperature. J&J is also using AI to streamline preparation of documents for regulators, Swanson said. The traditional process for a clinical trial â report can take 700 to 900 hours, he said. That time has gone from "700 hours to about 15 minutes," Swanson said. Swanson said rather than people being replaced by â the technology, he sees using AI as an additional skill for the company's employees. J&J currently has about 4,000 information technology employees. "A software â engineer isn't getting replaced, now their role is expanding," he said. "Our focus continues to be on skills. These are 'and' skills, not 'or' skills." Reporting by Michael Erman Writing by Chris Prentice Editing by Caroine Humer and Bill Berkrot Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
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J&J sees AI halving the time to generate drug development leads - The Economic Times
Johnson & Johnson is leveraging artificial intelligence to significantly speed up drug development. The company has halved the time needed to identify promising new drug candidates. AI is also streamlining manufacturing processes and drastically reducing the time for preparing regulatory documents.Johnson & Johnson is using artificial intelligence to slash by half the time it takes to generate new leads for developing drugs, the company's chief information officer said on Monday. Discovering new products outright and bringing them to market using AI is not yet possible, but â J&J is â using the new technology to screen the "potential universe" for promising chemical compounds or biologics, CIO Jim Swanson said at the Reuters Momentum AI event in New York. "That's still a ways away, but we can optimize," Swanson said. "We've cut our lead optimization time in half." The New Jersey-based pharmaceutical and medical device company has â been working toward a more-focused approach to AI, honing in on core processes like AI-enabled products, drug development and supply â chain optimization. "We're trying to cure cancer," Swanson said. "We need every tool that we can leverage to be able to do that." AI is also useful in manufacturing, he said. The technology has been helping to determine when to add solvent at the appropriate time and temperature. J&J is also using AI to streamline preparation of documents for regulators, Swanson said. The traditional process for a clinical trial report can take 700 to 900 hours, he said. That time has gone from "700 hours to â about 15 minutes," Swanson said. Swanson said rather than people being replaced by the technology, he sees using AI as an additional skill for the company's employees. J&J currently has about 4,000 information technology employees. "A software engineer isn't getting replaced, now their role is expanding," he said. "Our focus continues to be on skills. These are 'and' skills, not 'or' skills."
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J&J sees AI halving the time to generate drug development leads
NEW YORK, April 27 (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson is using artificial intelligence to slash by half the time it takes to generate new leads for developing drugs, the company's chief information officer said on Monday. Discovering new products outright and bringing them to market using AI is not yet possible, but J&J is using the new technology to screen the "potential universe" for promising chemical compounds or biologics, CIO Jim Swanson said at the Reuters Momentum AI event in New York. "That's still a ways away, but we can optimize," Swanson said. "We've cut our lead optimization time in half." The New Jersey-based pharmaceutical and medical device company has been working toward a more-focused approach to AI, honing in on core processes like AI-enabled products, drug development and supply chain optimization. "We're trying to cure cancer," Swanson said. "We need every tool that we can leverage to be able to do that." AI is also useful in manufacturing, he said. The technology has been helping to determine when to add solvent at the appropriate time and temperature. J&J is also using AI to streamline preparation of documents for regulators, Swanson said. The traditional process for a clinical trial report can take 700 to 900 hours, he said. That time has gone from "700 hours to about 15 minutes," Swanson said. Swanson said rather than people being replaced by the technology, he sees using AI as an additional skill for the company's employees. J&J currently has about 4,000 information technology employees. "A software engineer isn't getting replaced, now their role is expanding," he said. "Our focus continues to be on skills. These are 'and' skills, not 'or' skills." (Reporting by Michael ErmanWriting by Chris Prentice Editing by Caroine Humer and Bill Berkrot)
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Johnson & Johnson is deploying artificial intelligence to cut drug development lead optimization time in half, according to CIO Jim Swanson. The pharmaceutical giant is also using AI to reduce clinical trial report preparation from 700 hours to just 15 minutes and optimize manufacturing processes, marking a significant shift in how the company approaches cancer treatment development.
Johnson & Johnson is leveraging AI to transform its drug development pipeline, cutting lead optimization time by 50 percent, according to chief information officer Jim Swanson. Speaking at the Reuters Momentum AI event in New York, Swanson revealed how the New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company is using artificial intelligence to screen the "potential universe" for promising chemical compounds and biologics
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. While discovering new products outright and bringing them to market using AI remains beyond current capabilities, the technology is proving instrumental in optimizing core processes across the organization2
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Source: ET
The company's focused approach targets specific areas where AI delivers measurable impact: AI-enabled products, drug development workflows, and supply chain optimization. "We're trying to cure cancer," CIO Jim Swanson explained. "We need every tool that we can leverage to be able to do that"
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. This statement underscores how halving the time to generate drug development leads directly supports the company's mission to tackle complex diseases.Beyond drug discovery, AI in manufacturing is helping Johnson & Johnson optimize production workflows. The technology assists in determining the precise timing and temperature for adding solvents during manufacturing processes
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. This level of precision in supply chain operations reduces waste and improves consistency across production batches, factors that become critical when scaling pharmaceutical manufacturing to meet global demand.Perhaps the most striking efficiency gain appears in regulatory processes. Johnson & Johnson has compressed the preparation time for clinical trial reports from 700 to 900 hours down to approximately 15 minutes using AI
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. This dramatic reduction in administrative burden allows researchers and regulatory specialists to redirect their efforts toward more complex analytical tasks, potentially accelerating the entire approval timeline for new treatments.Related Stories
Swanson emphasized that AI implementation represents an expansion of employee capabilities rather than workforce replacement. With approximately 4,000 information technology employees, Johnson & Johnson views AI as creating "and" skills rather than "or" skills. "A software engineer isn't getting replaced, now their role is expanding," Swanson noted
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. This approach suggests the pharmaceutical industry may follow a path of AI augmentation rather than automation, requiring existing staff to develop new competencies alongside traditional expertise.
Source: Reuters
The implications extend beyond immediate efficiency gains. As AI continues to mature, the technology could compress development timelines for critical treatments, particularly in areas like curing cancer where Johnson & Johnson maintains active research programs. While fully AI-driven drug discovery remains "still a ways away," according to Swanson, the current applications in optimizing core processes demonstrate how pharmaceutical companies can deploy AI strategically today while building toward more ambitious capabilities tomorrow. Industry observers should watch whether competitors adopt similar focused AI strategies and whether regulatory bodies adjust approval frameworks to accommodate AI-assisted documentation and analysis.
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