CASE STUDY BRISTOL MYERS SQUIBB
Bristol Myers Squibb accelerates drug development with generative AI
Integrating data, technology, and generative AI to bring breakthrough therapies to more patients faster
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In biopharmaceutical R&D, time is crucial and the stakes are high. Every delay means patients must wait longer for access to potentially life-changing treatments.
Phase III clinical trials are the most expensive and operationally complex stage of drug development, with median costs ranging from $19 million to over $100 million per trial. Across the industry, AI, automation, and data-driven technology solutions are seen as pivotal to shortening clinical trial durations – and improving outcomes for patients worldwide.
Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), a global biopharmaceutical leader in the discovery, development, and delivery of innovative medicines across oncology, hematology, immunology, cardiovascular disease, and neuroscience, saw an opportunity to accelerate drug development and reduce costs.
In partnership with Accenture, the company successfully implemented more than 30 generative AI solutions across its Research & Development, Global Product Development & Supply, and Commercialization divisions.
At the same time, as Phase III clinical trials require complex logistics across partners and clinical trial sites, BMS worked with Accenture to reimagine its clinical trial approach, bringing data and insights to drug development teams through automation and AI.
Smarter trials, faster breakthroughs
A key outcome of the BMS-Accenture partnership is “Workbench”, a clinical trial accelerator that fuses AI-driven insights with real-time operational data.
A trusted platform to steer and accelerate drug development
Workbench is transforming clinical trial operations at BMS by providing complete visibility into key metrics and insights. It simplifies workflows, improves access to trial information, and generates actionable items with tracking capabilities – helping BMS’ teams shift from reactive to proactive trial management. The platform also captures institutional knowledge from team experiences and shares it forward, enabling teams to learn from past trials, build trust, and maintain consistency in execution.
Now adopted by over 30 of BMS’ top priority clinical trial teams, with unique users of the platform surging from under 100 to nearly 900 in just 3 months, Workbench has become the organization’s official platform for priority clinical trials, standardizing best practices and creating a single source of truth across the drug development organization.
BMS continues to expand the platform’s capabilities and analytics offerings, refine the user interface, and simplify how trial operations teams access data. The company plans to expand its use to all clinical trials this year and broaden its functionality to enable greater use.
By using AI- and data-driven technologies to accelerate drug development and reduce costly inefficiencies, BMS is opening the door to breakthrough therapies, as part of its commitment to discovering, developing, and delivering transformative medicines to patients everywhere.