Q: How are technology partners helping Bristol Myers Squibb deliver its mission?
At Bristol Myers Squibb, we believe in the power of science, enabled by data and digital capabilities, to address some of the most challenging diseases of our time. To achieve this, we are always looking to partner with the external ecosystem of digital innovators to help us access key technologies, relationships, subject matter experts and skillsets to complement our internal capabilities and accelerate our mission.
For example, we have established partnerships and made investments in companies that power a data-driven approach to transform the way medicines are discovered and developed. We are also working with other innovative companies to harness their advanced technological capability to expedite clinical trial cycle times and gradually build towards in-silico trials. In our translational science area, we are collaborating with service providers on AI-powered research tools and services for pathology. And in commercialization, we have established partnerships to develop digital therapeutic solutions that will support patients and potentially allow for self-administration of therapy, effectively improving the overall patient experience.
Our goal is to increasingly leverage digital innovations across all aspects of our business, and we can only achieve that by partnering with those who are at the forefront of digital innovation.
Q: Where do you see the industry heading in the next three to five years?
Digital innovation, computer and data science are the disciplines that will create breakthroughs in our understanding of biology and transform the way the life sciences industry operates at a fundamental level. The state of artificial intelligence and machine learning in life sciences is similar to where we were with personal computers in the 1980s - we are just getting started and there is so much ahead to discover! Technology and digital capabilities will also catalyze our ways of working - from how we develop medicines, to how we improve patient experience to how we run our core business operations. I am excited and ready to harness all of the possibilities that lay ahead.
Q: Looking ahead, what most energizes you about taking on your role with Bristol Myers Squibb?
Nothing is more energizing than being a part of a team that works every day to transform the lives of patients through science. There are countless patients around the world in need of better treatments. This year alone, 20 million people will have their lives turned upside down by cancer. There is still so much we don't understand about the intricate biochemical processes that can cause, arrest, or reverse many diseases. I’m honored and proud to be part of the charge to unlock the full potential of digital innovation, computer and data science to design and deliver novel therapies to patients with unmet needs.