Early adoption of generative AI in commercial life sciences

| McKinsey Direct

Generative AI (gen AI) is poised to transform nearly every aspect of the life sciences (LS) industry. The McKinsey Global Institute estimates that gen AI could generate $60 billion to $110 billion annually in economic value for pharmaceutical and medtech companies, with $18 billion to $30 billion of that value attributed to commercial functions alone.

As biopharma commercial leaders face intensifying competition, declining effectiveness of traditional sales models, evolving patient expectations, and increasing complexity in market access and pricing, gen AI’s ability to rapidly produce new and customized text, images, and video makes it a potentially disruptive force in marketing and sales. Commercial leaders could use the technology to generate consumer insights, create targeted marketing materials, and transform healthcare interactions through automated chatbots and virtual assistants acting as pharma representatives.

At the end of 2023, we surveyed more than 100 pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical-device leaders about their activity related to commercial applications of gen AI.1 In this article, we share the important results and insights from that survey and a course of action to consider.

To read the full article, download the PDF here.

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