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Roche to Build Autonomous AI Labs to Accelerate Drug Discovery
Summary
The Swiss pharmaceutical giant announced plans to develop fully autonomous, AI-driven laboratories, aiming to boost R&D productivity and increase the success rate of its drug pipeline.
Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche is developing autonomous, AI-driven laboratories to accelerate its research and development processes, the company announced on Monday. The initiative is part of a broader strategy to achieve what one executive called "AI independence" in drug discovery and development.
Strategic Shift to AI
Aviv Regev, executive vice president of Genentech Research and Early Development, confirmed that Roche has begun constructing the autonomous labs. The goal is to leverage artificial intelligence to speed up research, improve the efficiency of clinical trials, and ultimately bring new medicines to market faster.
This strategic pivot is supported by a significant reallocation of resources. Roche disclosed that approximately 2 billion Swiss francs in R&D savings will be redirected toward these productivity initiatives and other key programs by 2026.
Impact on Pipeline and Success Rates
Roche's increasing reliance on data-driven and AI-assisted methods appears to be yielding results. The company reported a significant increase in its drug development success rate, with its phase III success rate rising to over 80% year-to-date in 2026, a substantial improvement from 65% in 2025.
AdTo further build on this momentum, the company has set an ambitious target of bringing up to 20 new molecular entities to the market by 2030. This push is complemented by the recent opening of its Boston Innovation Center, which will have a specific focus on applying AI and machine learning to drug development.
Measuring AI's Contribution
Roche is actively tracking the influence of artificial intelligence on its R&D decisions. According to the company, AI or computational analysis contributed to 40% of its pipeline decisions between the fourth quarter of 2025 and the second quarter of 2026.
Looking ahead, Roche aims for its proprietary AI tool, Target Nexus, to contribute to 80% of all research portfolio decisions by the end of 2026. This target underscores the firm's commitment to integrating advanced computational tools at the core of its scientific discovery process.
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