Novo and Anthropic partner to advance AI drug discovery

Pharmaceutical company Novo has partnered with AI firm Anthropic to accelerate drug discovery and software development. The collaboration aims to address research challenges and improve the understanding of human biology and drug mechanics. Novo plans to utilize Anthropic’s Claude Science for specific research and development workflows and leverage frontier models to scale AI across its organization.

In conjunction with these efforts, Anthropic has begun operating a biological laboratory in the San Francisco Bay Area. Eric Kauderer-Abrams, who leads natural sciences at Anthropic, stated that the company believes real laboratory work remains the ultimate test in biology. While a spokesperson noted the lab is not exclusively focused on drug discovery, the move signals Anthropic’s expansion into the biotechnology sector to address medical needs and demonstrate the positive societal benefits of artificial intelligence.