Agentic AI is redefining the early stages of drug development by accelerating documentation and boosting productivity.
Biopharma is a high-stakes business. Developing and commercializing new therapies can take up to 15 years and cost billions. Growing manufacturing expenses, intensifying competition from generics and fast followers, and one of the steepest patent cliffs in history are testing the resilience of traditional business models.
In this environment, documentation-heavy processes—from clinical trial paperwork to quality reporting to regulatory submissions—can slow progress.
By tackling pharma’s most labor- and time-intensive workflows, AI is reshaping the operating model and speeding lifesaving treatments to patients—without sacrificing quality or compliance.
Transformative AI in Action
One leading pharma company saw an opportunity to cut production times for its medical writing which is critical to the early stages of drug development, yet notorious for its extended timelines. The company's teams of medical writers often spent six months producing a single clinical trial protocol. The ambition was to cut time to first draft dramatically while ensuring regulatory compliance and high quality output.
BCG developed a multi-agent AI system for the firm that integrates internal content management platforms and regulatory systems with external scientific databases. This end-to-end writing engine combines generative AI with robust governance, ensuring correct terminology and reference citations, and compliance with regulatory guidelines. The in-house senior medical writers have given the new approach their seal of approval, judging that no scientific rigor is lost during the process. The results have been transformative.
Why It Matters
The implications for agentic AI extend well beyond medical writing. Generative AI is projected to grow faster in health care than any other sector. BCG analysis shows that the GenAI market in health care will grow at a compound annual rate of 85%—from $1 billion today to $22 billion by 2027.
Pharma leaders have already unlocked impact with GenAI in multiple domains.
- Approximately 25% of biopharma companies reported that AI accounted for cost reductions and revenue increases of at least 5%, along with significant improvements in speed and agility.
- GenAI can accelerate early-stage drug breakthroughs by assisting in the discovery and optimization of small and large molecule drug candidates in silico, resulting in time reductions of 25% or more.
- Pharma companies that create personalized, compliant, adaptable materials for physicians and patients can drive revenue increases of up to 10% while reducing external agency costs by 25%.
This is just the tip of the iceberg now that agentic AI is taking hold. Those who hesitate risk falling behind in one of the most competitive and high-stakes industries in the world. The companies that act now will be the ones shaping the next era of medical innovation.
Unprecedented value is also anticipated across the entire medtech value chain thanks to advancements in AI. To find out more, explore our latest Executive Perspective deep dive.
