AP recently interviewed Angeli Moeller, who
heads artificial intelligence projects across
Bayer’s pharmaceutical business. Answers have
been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: Why use partners for developing AI software
and apps?
A: These areas are so new and so exploratory
that you just wouldn’t get there on time alone.
We partner with companies that have that
expertise and can accelerate development. We
believe we will save a couple years.
Q: How is Bayer using AI?
A: We’re looking at cardiovascular disease,
oncology and women’s health. Our focus is on
diagnosis but also on digital therapeutics, where
you’re using the technology to recommend
a patient make a change in behavior to
improve their health, or you’re recommending
medication changes.
Q: How would Bayer and other drugmakers
working on AI software get hospitals or insurers
to pay for using it?
A: We would show that the software does what
it says. It becomes cost effective and attractive
for them when we can prove the improved
outcomes with our app.
Q: How are you using AI to improve design and
patient testing of experimental drugs?
A: When developing a new drug, we can model
how it will behave in a cell in combination with
other drugs the patients might be taking. We’re
looking at how we can identify the right patients
and sites to run our clinical trials. We would be
able to run shorter studies and show where the
medication is the right one for those patients earlier.