Google DeepMind Chief Eyes Radical AI-Powered Shift In Drug Discovery Speed — Eli Lilly, Novartis Are Already Onboard

Alphabet’s Nobel Prize-winning artificial intelligence chief, Demis Hassabis, said drug discovery timelines could soon shrink from years to months due to the power of artificial intelligence, with his Isomorphic Labs unit working with Eli Lilly and Novartis.

“In the next couple of years, I’d like to see that cut down in a matter of months, instead of years. Perhaps even faster,” Bloomberg reported, citing Hassabis’ interview on television.

Hassabis, who runs both Google DeepMind and Isomorphic Labs, launched the drug discovery unit in 2021. Pharmaceutical companies have touted AI as a way to speed access to new medicines and reduce costs, though no AI-designed drug has yet passed a clinical trial.

In January, Isomorphic had said it would begin clinical trials of AI-designed drugs this year, but has yet to do so. Hassabis said the company has shown the “first few proof points” for moving drugs to trial but declined to give a timeline.

The unit, created to commercialize DeepMind’s AlphaFold protein-prediction system, raised $600 million this year in a funding round led by Thrive Capital. Hassabis and colleague John Jumper shared the 2024 Nobel Prize in chemistry for AlphaFold with a U.S.-based professor.

Isomorphic is focusing on cancer and immune disorders. Rebecca Paul, the company’s director of drug design, said that AI could eventually transform many cancers into treatable chronic diseases, although no timeframe was provided.

Novartis and Isomorphic agreed to work on three drug targets last year, which has now been expanded to six. Paul said the partnership has made “really good progress.” Hassabis has previously said Isomorphic could build a business worth more than $100 billion.

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Alphabet’s stock has risen nearly 27% so far in 2025.

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