Bernd Bucher | Innoscape Talk #8

December 2023 by Christian Rutzer (Interviewer). CIEB | University of Basel

AI and Big Data in the Life Sciences​

We are experiencing an increasing digitalization of the healthcare sector and are entering an era where artificial intelligence and big data could revolutionize research and development in the pharmaceutical industry.

In our 8th Innoscape Talk we had the pleasure to talk with Bernd Bucher, CIO at Novartis. We explore how the company plans to take advantage of the rapidly evolving technology landscape and how it is trying to integrate various innovations into its ongoing business operations.

Bernd Bucher sheds light on the integration of AI and big data in Novartis's operations, highlighting their crucial role in drug discovery and development. He discusses the balance between internal and external data science resources and addresses the challenges of embedding AI into pharmaceutical processes. The conversation also explores the future of AI-driven drug discovery and the potential impact of digitalization on industry competition.


Content of the Interview

00:20 What is your role as CIO at Novartis?
01:46 How is Novartis positioned in data science?
04:17 How is big data typically stored, processed, and reused at Novartis?
06:40 Data Science Capabilities: Internal vs. external resources?
07:58 How is AI transforming drug discovery at Novartis?
10:48 What challenges did you face in integrating AI into your operations?
12:24 How do you see the future of AI-driven drug discovery?
15:43 Can digitalization lead to new competition? E.g. could tech companies enter the market?

Interview: Christian Rutzer
Question Script: Rolf Weder, Dragan Filimonovic, Christian Rutzer, Till Schmidlin
Production: Dropzone Productions Studio
Edited: Studio Frich

Disclaimer: The Innoscape Talk series exclusively conveys the opinion of its interviewed experts. It is not intended to represent the position or opinion of the University of Basel or the CIEB. Nor is it the official position of any staff.

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Center for International Economics and Business | CIEB University of Basel