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
New Pistoia Alliance data highlights need for stronger governance and cultural change, with 17% of life science professionals saying their organizations rarely assess AI risk
London, 3 April 2025: The Pistoia Alliance, a global, not-for-profit alliance that advocates for greater collaboration in life sciences R&D, 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.
“The poll confirms what many of our members are experiencing – that progress depends on people, culture and skills, not just technology,” commented Dr Becky Upton, Pistoia Alliance President. “The goal of digital transformation is to accelerate the development of better treatments and improve patient outcomes. That means we must empower the people behind the science – from researchers to C-suite leaders – with the right skills and mindset to embrace innovation. The Alliance is uniquely placed to lead this effort, connecting individuals and uniting organizations across pharma, technology, and regulation. Our new Young Data Scientist of the Year award underpins our dedication to ensuring the next generation is ready to drive meaningful change for the benefit of patients.”
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. “Now is the time to embed rigorous AI risk assessments into everyday practice. Events like the Alliance’s conference are key for bridging the gap between pharma and regulators, helping the industry align on shared frameworks that support trustworthy and responsible AI use. By laying these foundations today, organizations can both stay ahead of evolving regulation and safely unlock AI’s potential.”
The Alliance is now seeking investment and support from pharma, technology and other stakeholder organizations in its agentic AI project. The project sets out to define the roles and functions of AI Agents in clinical and preclinical settings and establish industry guidelines for how agents should interact and work together.
Throughout the event, speakers across regulatory bodies, pharma, and academia highlighted how Pistoia’s projects are accelerating the adoption of technologies across the industry, including its FAIR Maturity Matrix, which recently won a Bio-IT Innovative Practice Award. Other speakers included Merck, GSK, Servier, Johnson & Johnson, Queen Mary University of London, Recursion, Sapio Sciences, Oncogene Cancer Research, Rancho Biosciences, Elsevier, Datavid, Cognizant, The Hyve, Digital Science and Arcondis.
Commenting on how data science is increasingly driving the future of life sciences R&D, Nima Hojat, winner of Young Data Scientist of the Year concluded: “I’m honored to receive this award from the Pistoia Alliance, especially at a time when data science is playing such a pivotal role in transforming the life sciences. Behind every dataset and algorithm is the potential to make a real difference to patients’ lives and I’m proud to represent a new generation of data scientists working to turn research into meaningful outcomes.”
To find out more about membership, upcoming events, or to suggest project ideas, visit www.pistoiaalliance.org.
About The Pistoia Alliance
The Pistoia Alliance is a global, not-for-profit members’ organization made up of life science companies, technology and service providers, publishers, and academic groups working to lower barriers to innovation in life science and healthcare R&D. It was conceived in 2007 and incorporated in 2009 by representatives of AstraZeneca, GSK, Novartis, and Pfizer who met at a conference in Pistoia, Italy. Its projects transform R&D through pre-competitive collaboration. It overcomes common R&D obstacles by identifying the root causes, developing standards and best practices, sharing pre-competitive data and knowledge, and implementing technology pilots. There are currently over 200 member companies; members collaborate on projects that generate significant value for the worldwide life sciences R&D community, using the Pistoia Alliance’s proven framework for open innovation.
About CCC
A pioneer in voluntary collective licensing, CCC advances copyright, accelerates knowledge, and powers innovation. With expertise in copyright, data quality, data analytics, and FAIR data implementations, CCC and its subsidiary RightsDirect collaborate with stakeholders on innovative solutions to harness the power of data and AI.
Media Contacts
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Tanya Randall
The Pistoia Alliance
+44 7887 811332
tanya.randall@pistoiaalliance.org
Craig Sender
CCC
+1 (917) 626-7152
csender@copyright.com