OpenAI acquires Orchestra Bio to accelerate AI-powered drug development

OpenAI has acquired drug development platform Orchestra Bio as the artificial intelligence company expands its efforts to accelerate the discovery and development of new medicines.

The acquisition brings Orchestra Bio's team and technology together with Rosalind, OpenAI's AI models and tools for life sciences research, the company said in an announcement.

“Our goal is to help scientists make discoveries and manage the work needed to turn them into treatments that reach patients sooner,” OpenAI said.

Developing a new medicine takes roughly 10 to 15 years on average, from target discovery to regulatory approval in the United States, OpenAI said, citing the complexity of scientific research and the coordination required across internal teams and external partners.

"We're now at an inflection point where AI can help take on these specialized tasks and complex workflows," the company said.

OpenAI's Rosalind platform includes GPT-Rosalind, which helps scientists reason through questions in biology and chemistry, and Rosalind Workbench, which connects AI capabilities with scientific tools and data to help researchers analyse results and plan experiments.

Orchestra Bio, meanwhile, provides a platform where scientists and AI agents work together to monitor drug development programmes, track studies and identify potential delays.

For example, a failed manufacturing batch can delay the start of a clinical trial and disrupt other activities in a drug development programme.

Orchestra's agents help teams identify affected timelines, gather relevant information and compare possible responses, allowing scientists and programme leaders to decide on the next steps.

OpenAI said collaboration with companies at the forefront of drug discovery and development would be critical to realising AI's potential in the sector.

“Our partnership with Novo Nordisk⁠ aims to translate its scale and scientific expertise into faster R&D and commercial execution while maintaining strong governance,” the AI company said.

“At Moderna⁠, AI is helping teams translate insights from complex data into experimental workflows, with the potential to accelerate R&D,” it added.

OpenAI said its vision was to use AI throughout the process of discovering and developing medicines, from exploring research ideas and designing experiments to interpreting results and coordinating the work required to advance promising treatments.

The company did not disclose financial terms of the Orchestra Bio acquisition in its announcement.