AI For Pharma Growth

In this episode of AI For Pharma Growth, Dr Andree Bates speaks with Smbat Rafayelyan, founder and CEO of Bioneex, about how AI is reshaping biopharma business development, deal scouting and asset evaluation.
Business development has traditionally relied heavily on relationships, conferences, databases, analyst reports and manual search. But as therapeutic pipelines, publications, patent filings and global biotech activity expand, that old model is becoming harder to sustain. Smbat explains why teams that only rely on their network risk missing valuable assets before they even know they were available.
The conversation explores how AI can act as a deal scout, helping biopharma and VC teams identify, structure and evaluate opportunities faster. Smbat explains how Bioneex allows biotech companies to submit non-confidential asset information, while AI extracts, validates and compares that data against external sources, curated databases and market intelligence.
They also discuss where AI is most useful in the BD process. The aim is not to replace human judgement, but to reduce the overwhelming search space. If AI can narrow thousands of potential assets down to a small, relevant shortlist, expert teams can spend their time on the work that matters: diligence, strategic fit, deal judgement and human relationships.
Smbat also warns that AI is not magic. General-purpose language models are not enough for serious deal sourcing. Effective AI scouting requires structured data, validation, multiple specialised models, human review and infrastructure built specifically for biopharma business development.

Topics Covered
Why traditional deal scouting is too slow

The limits of relationship-led deal flow

How AI supports asset search and evaluation

Matching biotech assets with pharma and VC priorities

Why structured and validated data matters

AI use cases beyond drug discovery

Narrowing thousands of assets into focused shortlists

Failure modes of general-purpose AI in BD

How BD teams may change over the next few years

Why human judgement still matters in due diligence

Eularis helps pharma and biotech leaders turn AI activity into board-defensible strategy and measurable commercial outcomes.

If your organisation has plenty of AI in motion but very little that moves the commercial needle in a way the board can see, start with our 10-Day AI Diagnostic Sprint. It’s a focused diagnostic that surfaces what’s actually broken and what’s blocking results, before you invest in a larger strategy effort.

The Sprint diagnoses the problem. The AI Strategic Blueprint that follows is where we build the board-defensible strategy and plan.

Details at eularis.com.

AI platforms and tools solve specific problems. Strategy makes sure you’re solving the right ones, in the right order. If you want help mapping priorities as you evaluate what to roll out next, send me a LinkedIn DM starting with ‘PRIORITIES’ and two lines: what’s already in flight, and the decision you’re trying to make next.
About the Podcast
AI For Pharma Growth is the podcast from pioneering Pharma Artificial Intelligence entrepreneur Dr Andree Bates, created to help pharma, biotech and healthcare organisations understand how AI-based technologies can save time, grow brands, and improve company results.This show blends deep sector experience with practical conversations that demystify AI for biopharma leaders, from start-up biotech right through to Big Pharma. Each episode features experts building AI-powered tools that are driving real-world results across discovery, R&D, clinical trials, medical affairs, market access, regulatory, insights, sales, marketing, and more.

Dr. Andree Bates LinkedIn | Facebook | X

In this episode of AI For Pharma Growth, Dr Andree Bates speaks with Nuno Valério, Head of Innovation, R&D Quality at Merck Healthcare, about the part of AI governance most organisations rarely talk about: the operational 80% that decides whether AI survives a pharma audit.
Nuno explains why governance cannot stop at policies, committees, risk frameworks and model registers. Those visible elements matter, but they are only the start. In a GxP environment, auditors will want to reconstruct how a decision was made, which data was used, which model version was involved, what validation evidence exists, and where the human decision trail sits.
The discussion explores how AI governance is moving from strategy decks into implementation. Pharma teams are under pressure to turn AI into value, but in regulated environments the margin for error is close to zero. That means adoption, trust, validation, traceability and operational discipline all matter just as much as the model itself.
Nuno also shares a practical way to pressure test readiness: take an AI tool already in production, pick a decision from a few months ago, and try to fully reconstruct the inputs, model version, validation status, review trail and evidence. If that takes more than 48 hours, the system is probably not audit ready.
The key message is that AI governance is not just a compliance function. Done properly, it becomes a competitive capability, helping organisations deploy AI faster, safer and with greater trust.
Topics Covered
Why AI governance is more than frameworks and policies

The visible 20% vs the operational 80%

What auditors actually want to reconstruct

GxP expectations for AI systems

Validation, traceability and change control

Human oversight and decision accountability

Why governance must include how people use AI

Vendor selection and audit-ready AI

Why trust by design could become competitive advantage

Eularis helps pharma and biotech leaders turn AI activity into board-defensible strategy and measurable commercial outcomes.If your organisation has plenty of AI in motion but very little that moves the commercial needle in a way the board can see, start with our 10-Day AI Diagnostic Sprint. It’s a focused diagnostic that surfaces what’s actually broken and what’s blocking results, before you invest in a larger strategy effort.

The Sprint diagnoses the problem. The AI Strategic Blueprint that follows is where we build the board-defensible strategy and plan.

Details at eularis.com.

AI platforms and tools solve specific problems. Strategy makes sure you’re solving the right ones, in the right order. If you want help mapping priorities as you evaluate what to roll out next, send me a LinkedIn DM starting with ‘PRIORITIES’ and two lines: what’s already in flight, and the decision you’re trying to make next.
About the Podcast
AI For Pharma Growth is the podcast from pioneering Pharma Artificial Intelligence entrepreneur Dr Andree Bates, created to help pharma, biotech and healthcare organisations understand how AI-based technologies can save time, grow brands, and improve company results.This show blends deep sector experience with practical conversations that demystify AI for biopharma leaders, from start-up biotech right through to Big Pharma. Each episode features experts building AI-powered tools that are driving real-world results across discovery, R&D, clinical trials, medical affairs, market access, regulatory, insights, sales, marketing, and more.

Dr. Andree Bates LinkedIn | Facebook | X

In this solo episode of AI For Pharma Growth, Dr Andree Bates tackles one of the biggest reasons pharma AI strategies stall: they are not presented in the financial language a CFO can approve.
Dr Andree argues that the issue is rarely whether AI has value. The issue is that most organisations cannot quantify that value in a way that connects to business outcomes, baselines, investment priorities, timelines and return. Too often, teams arrive with pilots, use cases, vendor proposals and enthusiasm, but no financial model that can survive board-level scrutiny.
With the patent cliff putting hundreds of billions in revenue at risk, AI is being positioned as a strategic lever across R&D, commercial, medical, regulatory and market access. But activity is not strategy. A use case that looks impressive in isolation may not be the one that moves the business most.
This episode explains what a credible AI financial case needs to include: initiative-level modelling, realistic cost assumptions, adoption scenarios, redeployment of time and talent, technology cost changes, the cost of inaction, and sequencing. Dr Andree also explains why implementation order can change return, because some initiatives create the data, governance and organisational readiness needed for others to work.
The core message is clear: AI strategy must be treated as a financial discipline, not just a technology ambition. If you cannot explain which AI initiatives matter most, why they come first, what return they should generate and when, you do not yet have the case your CFO needs.

Topics Covered
Why AI business cases often fail with CFOs

The difference between AI activity and AI strategy

Why pilot ROI is not enough

Patent cliff pressure and financial rigour

Comparing AI initiatives against business priorities

Redeployment and real financial return

Technology cost modelling

The cost of not acting

Why sequencing changes AI ROI

Eularis helps pharma and biotech leaders turn AI activity into board-defensible strategy and measurable commercial outcomes. If your organisation has plenty of AI in motion but very little that moves the commercial needle in a way the board can see, start with our 10-Day AI Diagnostic Sprint. It’s a focused diagnostic that surfaces what’s actually broken and what’s blocking results, before you invest in a larger strategy effort.
The Sprint diagnoses the problem. The AI Strategic Blueprint that follows is where we build the board-defensible strategy and plan.
Details at eularis.com
If this episode described your situation, send me a LinkedIn DM starting with ‘SENSECHECK’ and two things: the question you’re trying to answer internally, and what’s currently in flight. I’ll reply with what I’d need to see to turn that activity into a defensible plan, and the next step.
About the Podcast
AI For Pharma Growth is the podcast from pioneering Pharma Artificial Intelligence entrepreneur Dr Andree Bates, created to help pharma, biotech and healthcare organisations understand how AI-based technologies can save time, grow brands, and improve company results.This show blends deep sector experience with practical conversations that demystify AI for biopharma leaders, from start-up biotech right through to Big Pharma. Each episode features experts building AI-powered tools that are driving real-world results across discovery, R&D, clinical trials, medical affairs, market access, regulatory, insights, sales, marketing, and more.

Dr. Andree Bates LinkedIn | Facebook | X

For most of modern medicine, biological data has been built around population averages: what people like you might experience, rather than what you personally will. In this episode, Dr Andree Bates speaks with Ken Clark, co-founder and CEO of Enigma Genetics, about moving from population models to personal intelligence, and what it could mean for patients, pharma and the future of biological data.

Ken shares the personal medical experience that led him into this work. After multiple surgeries and a persistent infection, he found that the data needed to understand what had changed in his own biology simply wasn’t available in a useful way. That sparked the idea of creating a personal biological “version history”, a healthy baseline that can be compared against future changes as science and computation improve.

The conversation explores Enigma Genetics’ vision for an AI that lives within a personal health profile, continuously aggregating genetic data, medical records, imaging, wearables and other health information to help build the most comprehensive picture possible for the individual and their doctor. The goal is not to replace medical judgement, but to give clinicians a richer, more personalised foundation for diagnosis and decision making.

Ken also discusses why consent, identity and data ownership need to be rethought. Instead of medical and genetic data being locked inside institutions, Enigma’s model imagines a system where individuals control access, grant or revoke consent, and become active participants in how their data is used.

The key message is that precision medicine cannot fully mature if it is still built on population-level thinking. To unlock the next stage, biological intelligence may need to become more personal, consented, longitudinal and controlled by the individual.

Topics Covered
Why population models fall short for individual biology

Creating a personal biological “version history”

Personal AI profiles for health data and clinical support

Genetic data, imaging, medical records and wearables

Consent, identity, access control and data ownership

Real world evidence and individual-level consent

Clinical trials, rare disease data and patient participation

The future of personalised biological intelligence

Eularis helps pharma and biotech leaders turn AI activity into board-defensible strategy and measurable commercial outcomes.

If your organisation has plenty of AI in motion but very little that moves the commercial needle in a way the board can see, start with our 10-Day AI Diagnostic Sprint. It’s a focused diagnostic that surfaces what’s actually broken and what’s blocking results, before you invest in a larger strategy effort.

The Sprint diagnoses the problem. The AI Strategic Blueprint that follows is where we build the board-defensible strategy and plan.

Details at eularis.com.

AI platforms and tools solve specific problems. Strategy makes sure you’re solving the right ones, in the right order. If you want help mapping priorities as you evaluate what to roll out next, send me a LinkedIn DM starting with ‘PRIORITIES’ and two lines: what’s already in flight, and the decision you’re trying to make next.

About the Podcast
AI For Pharma Growth is the podcast from pioneering Pharma Artificial Intelligence entrepreneur Dr Andree Bates, created to help pharma, biotech and healthcare organisations understand how AI-based technologies can save time, grow brands, and improve company results.This show blends deep sector experience with practical conversations that demystify AI for biopharma leaders, from start-up biotech right through to Big Pharma. Each episode features experts building AI-powered tools that are driving real-world results across discovery, R&D, clinical trials, medical affairs, market access, regulatory, insights, sales, marketing, and more.
Dr. Andree Bates LinkedIn | Facebook | X

Most pharma companies are racing to apply AI across drug discovery, development and commercialisation, but many of those efforts will fail for one simple reason: the data underneath is not good enough. In this episode, Dr Andree Bates speaks with Lisa Downey, CEO of DrugBank, about why trusted, structured biomedical intelligence is the foundation pharma AI cannot succeed without.
Lisa explains how DrugBank has spent 20 years building and continuously curating a biomedical knowledge layer across drugs, targets, diseases and trials. With more than 156 million structured data points and over 60,000 academic citations, DrugBank is not just another dataset. It is a continuously maintained reference system designed so AI can reason over biomedical knowledge with traceability and trust.
The conversation explores why most pharma AI projects fall short. Lisa argues the blocker is rarely the model. Instead, teams hit the wall because internal data lakes are not harmonised, licensed third-party data may not be AI-ready, and public data sources are incomplete or not maintained for enterprise use. Brilliant ML teams then spend most of their time cleaning and reconciling data instead of creating real scientific or commercial value.
Lisa also breaks down what pharma buyers should test before trusting any AI vendor: interoperability, harmonisation, evidence lineage and continuous validation. She explains why human pharmaceutical expertise still matters, introducing DrugBank’s “human over the loop” approach, where experts set scientific boundaries, validation criteria and judgement so AI can scale inside trusted guardrails.

Topics Covered
Why most pharma AI projects fail before they scale

Data quality as the foundation of trustworthy AI

DrugBank’s 20 years of curated biomedical intelligence

Internal data lakes, third-party data and public data limitations

Why hallucinations often start upstream of the model

How to evaluate data quality: interoperability, harmonisation, lineage and validation

Human over the loop vs human in the loop

Why defensible AI needs traceable sourced facts

The difference between confident AI and grounded AI

Why proprietary context matters more than raw data

Eularis helps pharma and biotech leaders turn AI activity into board-defensible strategy and measurable commercial outcomes.If your organisation has plenty of AI in motion but very little that moves the commercial needle in a way the board can see, start with our 10-Day AI Diagnostic Sprint. It’s a focused diagnostic that surfaces what’s actually broken and what’s blocking results, before you invest in a larger strategy effort.

The Sprint diagnoses the problem. The AI Strategic Blueprint that follows is where we build the board-defensible strategy and plan.Details at eularis.com.
AI platforms and tools solve specific problems. Strategy makes sure you’re solving the right ones, in the right order. If you want help mapping priorities as you evaluate what to roll out next, send me a LinkedIn DM starting with ‘PRIORITIES’ and two lines: what’s already in flight, and the decision you’re trying to make next.
About the Podcast
AI For Pharma Growth is the podcast from pioneering Pharma Artificial Intelligence entrepreneur Dr Andree Bates, created to help pharma, biotech and healthcare organisations understand how AI-based technologies can save time, grow brands, and improve company results.This show blends deep sector experience with practical conversations that demystify AI for biopharma leaders, from start-up biotech right through to Big Pharma. Each episode features experts building AI-powered tools that are driving real-world results across discovery, R&D, clinical trials, medical affairs, market access, regulatory, insights, sales, marketing, and more.

Dr. Andree Bates LinkedIn | Facebook | X