AI is saving pharma billions in manufacturing and back-office work, just not in the lab

THE DECODER / 5/6/2026

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Key Points

  • Eli Lilly’s digital leadership says AI is already delivering large cost and efficiency benefits across pharma operations, especially in manufacturing and back-office processes.
  • The main gap is that these gains have not yet materialized in the area where AI was most heavily marketed: drug discovery.
  • The article suggests that AI value in pharma may be clearer and more near-term in operational workflows than in the highly complex lab R&D pipeline.
  • Overall, the piece frames current AI ROI in pharma as uneven—strong outside the lab, weaker inside it.

Eli Lilly's digital chief admits that, so far, AI is paying off in pharma everywhere except where the industry hyped it most: drug discovery.

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