Elsevier Supports Pistoia Alliance to Tackle AI Challenges in Drug Discovery

Elsevier has announced its support for the Pistoia Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to dismantling systemic barriers to innovation in life sciences, through a joint program of events. Founded by AstraZeneca, GSK, Novartis, and Pfizer, the Pistoia Alliance fosters pre-competitive collaboration among life sciences companies, tech providers, academic institutions, and publishers. This alliance aims to address persistent challenges in artificial intelligence.

The program a response to critical structural limitations within AI adoption. Despite widespread recognition of AI’s potential to transform drug discovery, recent surveys, including Elsevier’s Attitudes to AI report, indicate ambivalence within the research community: while 94% of researchers anticipate that AI will expedite scientific breakthroughs, a significant 95% express apprehension about AI’s propensity for generating misinformation. This concern is echoed in the Pistoia Alliance’s Lab of the Future report, which highlights an industry-wide call for robust data practices and transparent AI mechanisms to foster trust.

In response, Elsevier and the Pistoia Alliance have outlined five pivotal domains to fortify AI’s role in pharmaceutical R&D:

• Data Trustworthiness: Ensure high-quality, credible data to support accurate AI insights in scientific research, guided by FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles.

• Data Structuring: Use FAIR-aligned frameworks to organize complex datasets, making them accessible and analyzable for AI applications.

• AI Transparency: Promote clarity and reliability in AI outcomes through human oversight and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) methods.

• Unified Governance: Align researchers and policymakers to effectively navigate regulatory standards like the EU AI Act, ensuring responsible AI use.

• Skills Development: Address the talent gap by fostering interdisciplinary expertise in both biomedical and data science domains.

This program will unfold through a series of events designed to engage Pistoia’s member organizations in practical discussions on these focus areas. Highlights include the following sessions at the upcoming Pistoia Alliance Annual Conference (Philadelphia, November 12-13):

• Webinar (Nov 4): Rapid Biomedical Insight Discovery with AI, featuring Ivana Kotevic, VP of Product, Corporate Life Sciences, and Guy Kingham, Senior Director of Strategy, Elsevier’s Life Sciences business, addresses the foundational methods for accelerating biomedical insights via AI.
• Workshop (Nov 12): Democratizing Data in Life Sciences: The Role of LLMs, led by SciBite and Elsevier, delves into the role of Large Language Models (LLMs) in enabling accessible, scalable data across life sciences.
• Keynote (Nov 12): AI in Drug Discovery by Mirit Eldor, Managing Director, Life Sciences Solutions at Elsevier, will discuss AI’s transformative capacity in drug discovery, focusing on the balance between innovation and ethical integrity.
• Presentation (Nov 13): Evolution and Evaluation of Scientific Search and Discovery by Mark Sheehan, VP of Data Science Life Science Solutions, examines AI’s impact on scientific discovery, especially how search algorithms shape research outcomes.
• Webinar (Nov 21): Assisting Ontology Development with LLMs, presented by Simon Jupp, Head of Semantic Technology, SciBite, emphasizes the role of LLMs in enhancing ontology—a foundational tool for knowledge representation in AI.

Mirit Eldor, Managing Director at Elsevier, articulates the centrality of data credibility within AI-powered research:

“The Pistoia Alliance provides an invaluable platform for collective expertise. By harnessing shared knowledge and advancing best practices, we can tackle the fundamental data challenges inhibiting AI’s potential to accelerate safe, effective therapies.”

Dr. Becky Upton, President of the Pistoia Alliance, underscores the urgency of these initiatives, noting:

“Despite the industry’s enthusiasm for AI, pervasive issues—data access, skill gaps, and regulatory misalignment—continue to challenge life sciences organizations. Elsevier, with its longstanding presence in the Alliance since 2015, has been instrumental in driving impactful, pre-competitive initiatives that advance AI integration in a responsible, forward-looking manner.”

Topics: AI & Digital