Congress should increase public funding for initiatives such as ARPA-H’s programs to enhance AI-enabled drug discovery, NIH’s Bridge2AI Program to accelerate AI adoption in biomedical research, and NSF’s TIP support of AI-enabled platforms. 

To Do: Accelerate AI Adoption in Biopharma Research

The White House’s AI Action Plan highlights how upgrading labs, data infrastructure, and research models is essential to unlock AI’s full potential in accelerating drug discovery and keeping the United States at the forefront of biopharmaceutical innovation.

America’s AI Action Plan: Implications for Biopharmaceutical Innovation

America's AI Action Plan: Implications for Biopharmaceutical Innovation

Sandra Barbosu chairs a session about AI and pharmaceuticals at the 2025 BioTechX conference.

AI in Drug Discovery and Development 

Congress should fund NIH’s “All of Us” research program to improve the representativeness of datasets used in biomedical research.

To Do: Improve the Datasets Needed for Biomedical Research

Congress should fund and direct the National Science Foundation (NSF) to create a competitive AI fellowship program for at least 1,000 computer science students annually.

To Do: Expand Investments in AI Talent

ITIF's Center for Data Innovation released a new report exploring opportunities to accelerate data-driven innovation in drug development and hosted a panel discussion about the ways data can make drug development faster, more efficient, and lead to new cures.

Accelerating Data-Driven Drug Development

Policymakers should recognize that the potential of data-driven drug development is crucial to the well-being of Americans as well as U.S. competitiveness, and develop policies to accelerate this transformation.

The Promise of Data-Driven Drug Development

Congress should pass the Privacy Enhancing Technology Research Act mandating NSF to support research into privacy-enhancing technologies and directing OSTP to coordinate efforts with other federal agencies to accelerate the technologies’ development, deployment, and adoption.

To Do: Pass the Privacy Enhancing Technology Research Act

The administration and Congress should establish a joint industry-university-government R&D partnership to reduce the cost of drug development and production.

To Do: Invest in AI and Data Science Training for Drug Development

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Harnessing AI to Accelerate Innovation in the Biopharmaceutical Industry

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To Do: Accelerate AI Adoption in Biopharma Research

America’s AI Action Plan: Implications for Biopharmaceutical Innovation

AI in Drug Discovery and Development