Dear Readers,

“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” Alan Kay’s words feel especially relevant today as pharma grapples with the rise of AI.

Whether we like it or not, AI is here to stay. It’s already woven into the fabric of daily life – from the playlists that magically predict our moods to the navigation apps that know a better route before we do. Pharma is no exception. As always, there are the early adopters racing ahead, the cautious majority waiting to see results, and the die-hard laggards who insist they’ve seen this story before.

But this time, the story feels different. AI is already changing how we identify drug candidates, how we make sense of sprawling datasets, even how we think about engaging patients and HCPs. The practical and the visionary are colliding – and the results are hard to ignore.

This issue dives into that collision. From the big picture vision of building the foundations of AI-driven drug discovery and the global race to lead this transformation, we’ll then zoom in to hear directly from former US government drug czar, Dr Rahul Gupta, on how AI could help tackle America’s ongoing opioid crisis, and explore what it really means to build an AI-ready workforce.

As each of this issue’s contributors discuss, it’s going to be a journey – equal parts visionary, practical, and provocative. The real question for pharma is whether to watch the change from the sidelines or do as Kay advised, and start actively shaping it.

Happy reading

Eloise McLennan
Deep Dive editor