Novo to partner with Anthropic on drug discovery efforts

Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk will partner with Anthropic in an effort to speed up drug development, as the one-time GLP-1 leader bets AI will help it reclaim lost market share.

Novo rivals Lilly, Merck, and Roche have all invested in AI, though it has largely been used to improve workplace productivity and design clinical trials, rather than discover new drugs.

But researchers are bullish on AI’s use for bioscience, and Novo — having jumped out to a lead with its Ozempic injectable that became synonymous with GLP-1s — is playing catch up: Its shares have plunged 20% in the past year, prompting the firm to launch a culture shake-up. From this week, Novo Nordisk will henceforth be known simply as “Novo.”