Johnson & Johnson praises AI efficiency in generating drug development leads<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nJohnson & Johnson has recently praised AI capabilities in work efficiency and production.<\/p>\n
The chief information officer of a J&J group company said on Monday it is using artificial intelligence to halve production time to generate new leads for drug development. <\/p>\n
CIO Jim Swanson said at the Reuters Momentum AI event in New York that it is not yet possible to completely discover new products and bring them to market using AI, but J&J is using the new technology to screen “possible universes” for promising chemical compounds or biologics.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s still a long way off, but we can adapt,\u201d Swanson said. “We’ve cut our lead optimization time in half.”<\/p>\n
The New Jersey-based pharmaceutical and medical device company is working towards a more focused approach to AI, focusing on AI-enabled products, core processes like drug development and supply chain optimization.<\/p>\n
“We’re trying to cure cancer,” Swanson said. \u201cWe need every tool we can take advantage of to be able to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
AI is also useful in manufacturing, he said. The technology is helping to determine when to add the solvent at the appropriate time and temperature.<\/p>\n
Swanson said J&J is also using AI to streamline the preparation of documents for regulators. The traditional process of clinical trial reports can take 700 to 900 hours, he said.<\/p>\n
That time has gone “from 700 hours to about 15 minutes,” Swanson said.<\/p>\n
Swanson said that rather than people being replaced by technology, he sees the use of AI as an additional skill for company employees. J&J currently has approximately 4,000 information technology employees.<\/p>\n
\u201cA software engineer is not being replaced, his role is now expanding,\u201d he said. “Our focus remains on skills. These are ‘and’ skills, not ‘or’ skills.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n