Life science professionals say agentic AI to have most impact in next 2-3 years, but 51% cite resistance to change as biggest barrier to innovation
The Pistoia Alliance has released new findings on data-driven innovation and AI in life sciences in conjunction with CCC (Copyright Clearance Center).
Resistance to change emerged as the biggest innovation barrier (51%), prompting the Alliance to call on the pharma industry to prioritize cultural and behavioral change in digital transformation efforts. Lack of skills was the second most cited barrier (17%), highlighting the need to upskill today’s workforce and inspire the next generation of data scientists. The research was conducted at the Pistoia Alliance’s annual European conference, which welcomed 300 attendees over two days at the Royal Society of Medicine in London. Reflecting its commitment to future talent, the Alliance also announced the winner of its inaugural Young Data Scientist of the Year Award: Nima Hojat, Research Engineer at CPI.
Agentic AI also emerged as a key theme at the conference; it was identified as the technology expected to have the most impact over the next 2-3 years by both the Alliance’s recently completed LLM project and a panel of speakers from UK Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), AbbVie, AstraZeneca, and Amino Data. However, apprehension around AI still remains in the industry, with 39% of respondents citing AI models producing incorrect answers as the biggest concern regarding the technology. Reputational risk was the highest concern for companies when building, choosing or using AI technologies (37%), followed by safety (17%). Despite these anxieties, 17% said their organizations never or rarely formally assess risks associated with AI use.
“Companies know that increased AI regulation is on the horizon – in fact, 59% of our respondents expect increased government regulation in the next five years,” comments Neal Dunkinson, Senior Director of Solution Sales at CCC.
