Novo Nordisk is partnering with OpenAI to speed up weight loss drug discovery

Novo Nordisk announced a strategic partnership with OpenAI on Tuesday to apply artificial intelligence across its business, from drug discovery to manufacturing and commercial operations.

According to Novo Nordisk, the arrangement is designed to harness OpenAI's tools for making sense of large, intricate datasets, spotting viable drug candidates earlier in the process, and shortening the path from laboratory research to medicines that reach patients. The rollout will start with pilots in R&D, manufacturing, and commercial operations before a company-wide integration is completed by late 2026.

"There are millions of people living with obesity and diabetes who need treatment options, and we know there are therapies still waiting to be discovered that could change their lives," Novo Nordisk CEO Mike Doustdar said in a statement. "Integrating AI in our everyday work gives us the ability to analyse datasets at a scale that was previously impossible, identify patterns we could not see, and test hypotheses faster than ever."

OpenAI will also help train Novo Nordisk's global workforce to improve AI literacy and productivity. The company said the deal is structured with strict data protection, governance, and human oversight to ensure ethical and compliant use.

In an interview with Reuters, Doustdar said the goal is not to shrink the existing headcount, but rather to make employees more productive while moderating how quickly the company needs to add new staff in the future. "The aim here is not replacing our scientists. It's about supercharging them," he said.

Novo Nordisk did not disclose financial terms. Novo Nordisk stock rose 2.8% after the opening bell, according to CNBC.

Tuesday's announcement extends a broader AI push already underway at Novo Nordisk that includes, according to CNBC, a previously announced deal with Nvidia $NVDA giving the company access to the Gefion sovereign AI supercomputer for drug discovery work. Novo Nordisk employees already had access to a custom version of OpenAI's ChatGPT before the new agreement, a company spokesperson told Bloomberg.

The partnership comes as Novo Nordisk works to regain ground in the obesity drug market against U.S. rival Eli Lilly $LLY. Oral Wegovy became available in January, and Eli Lilly secured U.S. regulatory clearance for its competing weight-loss tablet, Foundayo, earlier this month, Reuters reported.

Big Pharma has poured billions into AI drug discovery in recent years, though the industry has yet to see a market-ready drug developed entirely through AI. Tasks such as recruiting patients for trials, choosing trial locations, and assembling regulatory submissions have proven to be the areas where AI delivers the most immediate value, executives in the industry say, while the harder challenge of generating genuinely new molecular discoveries remains largely unmet. Precedence Research estimates the global drug industry's investment in AI will reach $2.51 billion in 2026.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has separately invested more than $100 million of his own money in AI-based drug startups. "AI is reshaping industries and in life sciences, it can help people live better, longer lives," Altman said in a statement about the Novo Nordisk deal.