Sanofi to collaborate with OpenAI and Formation Bio

Pharmaceutical giant Sanofi have announced a collaboration with Formation Bio and OpenAI to build AI-powered software for accelerated drug development. 

French drugmaker Sanofi have announced their intentions to collaborate with AI research organisation OpenAi – best known for their AI technologies like Chat GPT – and Formation Bio, a technology company harnessing AI technologies to address supply chain and drug development bottlenecks.  

The collaboration will focus on consolidating data and software to develop custom solutions across the drug product lifecycle. A first-of-its-kind collaboration, Sanofi will provide access to proprietary data for the development of AI models. Their aim is to become the first biopharma company powered by AI at scale. 

Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson 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.” 

OpenAI will provide access to their AI capabilities such as fine-tuning AI models and AI expertise. COO Brad Lightcap commented “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 brining new medicines to market.” 

Formation Bio Co-Founder and CEO Benjamine Liu added “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.” Formation Bio will provide their own engineering expertise and experience at the intersection of pharmaceuticals and AI. The company operates a tech-driven drug development platform able to deploy AI technologies across various aspects of the pharmaceutical lifecycle.  

Source:  

Press Release: Sanofi, Formation Bio and OpenAI announce first-in-class AI collaboration [Accessed May 22, 2025] https://www.sanofi.com/en/media-room/press-releases/2024/2024-05-21-05-30-00-2885244