New Pistoia Alliance poll finds regulatory teams benefit most from AI, but just 1% see value in the wet lab
Conference tackles regulatory alignment, digital twins and omics data, while Roche wins Data Science Team of the Year and Shruti Kaushal of AbbVie wins Young Data Scientist Award
4 May 2026Industry news
The Pistoia Alliance, a global, not-for-profit that advocates for greater collaboration in life sciences R&D, has released new poll data from its annual European conference in London UK, revealing that while AI use is becoming widespread across life sciences organizations, its measurable impact on drug R&D remains limited.
Almost a third (30%) of life sciences professionals say their organization has implemented an enterprise-wide AI platform, yet 69% lack clear metrics to assess AI’s impact on reducing the cost or time required for drug R&D, and just 4% report tangible benefits of AI for R&D leadership. The poll, sponsored by Thoughtworks, was conducted at the event attended by 300 industry leaders at the Royal Society of Medicine in London.
The survey also revealed that AI’s impact is uneven throughout the R&D lifecycle. More than half (54%) of respondents said teams focused on regulatory submissions and reporting are seeing the greatest benefits from AI, alongside research analysis teams (21%). By contrast, just 13% cited value in automating scientific workflows and experiments while only 1% report value in the wet lab.
Alongside plenary sessions, conversations from the conference were split into four themes:
- Semantic data in pharma: Speakers included Roche, AstraZeneca, AbbVie, Pfizer, Rancho Biosciences, Elsevier and Sigmatic Sciences, exploring how semantic data and ontologies improve interoperability and ground AI in reliable knowledge.
- Accelerating late-stage R&D: Experts including the FDA, Parexel, Boehringer Ingelheim, Roche, Amino Data and Our Future Health discussed digital twins, social media data, omics and patient cohort engagement.
- Practical AI and machine learning: Sessions featuring Bayer, IBM, Thoughtworks, UCB and Sapio Sciences covered multi-agent systems, literature analysis and trial forecasting.
- Exchange of data and regulatory submissions: Speakers from GSK, Eurofins, AstraZeneca, AbbVie and Zifo examined how data standards can improve in vivo data and non-animal model submissions.
“A key focus at this year’s conference was understanding why the gap between AI investment and value persists. The polls show AI success depends on getting both the data and people elements right. 59% say their companies need to prioritize data quality and accessibility, while 22% highlight AI adoption and change management,” said Dr. Becky Upton, President of The Pistoia Alliance.
Dr. Christian Baber, Chief Portfolio Officer for The Pistoia Alliance, added, “Progress in areas such as regulatory submissions is encouraging, but there is more to be done in environments like the lab. The responsibility for this does not sit with pharma alone. Regulators have a role to play, and are also keen to move quickly while ensuring that patient safety is maintained. We encourage closer collaboration between the Alliance and regulators to shape the data and standards needed to scale AI.”
Building on the themes explored at the conference, The Pistoia Alliance will be hosting a conference focused on enabling AI-ready data in Boston, November 10-11, 2026.