\u201cI didn\u2019t set out to work in pharmaceuticals. In fact, I started my career in construction as an engineer designing buildings, not medicines. But even then, something drew me toward science. One of my first projects was a building in Cambridge, Massachusetts that later became a Novartis lab, and I remember being really inspired by the purpose behind it. As the years passed, I realized I wanted that same sense of purpose in my own work. I wanted to do something that mattered to people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n
That search for meaning is what led me here – to Novartis, and to a mission I believe in deeply: developing transformative medicines and getting them to patients faster.<\/p>\n
Today, I lead the team responsible for AI in Development. And I genuinely believe AI is going to be transformative for healthcare and life sciences. The speed with which we can identify new drug candidates and bring them to patients is going to be substantially faster in the future. AI is helping us operate R&D more efficiently – identifying molecules in research and then bringing them through clinical trials faster. That\u2019s profoundly impactful for humanity.<\/p>\n
Max Lawson, Head Process Innovation, Basel<\/p>\n
And none of this works without deep collaboration. We generate an enormous amount of data in our labs and in our global operations, and when that data moves into the cloud, our AI teams and development teams work hand in hand. Together, they apply models that help researchers make better decisions, speed up processes, and uncover insights we couldn\u2019t reach alone. Then that knowledge flows back into research, creating this continuous, high\u2011energy loop of discovery, development and learning.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s one of the things I find most inspiring about Novartis: AI specialists, biologists, clinicians, chemists and operations associates all sitting together, challenging each other, building on each other\u2019s strengths.<\/p>\n
AI is supercharging our Development teams, but our teams are also supercharging AI. It\u2019s a partnership, not a replacement.<\/p>\n
One of the most important things we\u2019ve learned is that AI isn\u2019t really about the technology. The company with the \u201cbest\u201d technology isn\u2019t the one that\u2019s going to win. AI is about people – how they adopt it, how it helps them make smarter decisions, and how it accelerates the work they already do brilliantly. At Novartis, we built our entire AI strategy around augmenting our people. We want to help our teams become super\u2011intelligent in what they do, not replace them.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a huge amount of unmet need in the world. And on a personal level, many people in my life are patients. So, as AI continues to move incredibly fast, I\u2019m proud that here we\u2019re applying it every day while staying focused on what truly counts: working together to develop better medicines and get them to the patients who need them, faster.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re excited about purpose, transformative science, and the chance to be part of something bigger than yourself, then come join us at Novartis – and help us reimagine medicine together.\u201d<\/p>\n