OpenAI is launching a specialized AI model for drug discovery and life sciences research

OpenAI has introduced GPT-Rosalind, a new reasoning model built for biology, drug discovery, and translational medicine research. Qualified enterprise customers in the U.S. can now try it out as a research preview.

Researchers can use the model to handle complex, multi-step scientific tasks. These range from gathering existing evidence and forming new hypotheses to planning experiments. OpenAI said it is working with customers such as Amgen $AMGN, Moderna $MRNA, the Allen Institute, and Thermo Fisher $TMO Scientific to apply the model in discovery workflows.

Qualified customers in OpenAI's trusted access program can use the model through ChatGPT, Codex, or the API. OpenAI is also releasing a free Life Sciences research plugin for Codex, which gives scientists access to over 50 data sources and scientific tools. During the research preview, using the model will not use up existing credits or tokens, as long as users follow abuse guardrails, according to OpenAI.

The model is named after Rosalind Franklin, the British scientist whose work helped uncover the structure of DNA. Joy Jiao, OpenAI's life sciences research lead, said the company does not yet believe AI can create new disease treatments on its own. However, she told reporters, "we do think there's a real opportunity to help researchers move faster through some of the most complex and time-intensive parts of the scientific process," according to Bloomberg.

OpenAI said that on the BixBench benchmark, which tests real-world bioinformatics and data analysis tasks, GPT-Rosalind earned the highest score among models with published results. In another evaluation with gene therapy company Dyno Therapeutics, the model's best ten submissions ranked above the 95th percentile of human experts on an RNA sequence prediction task.

OpenAI said that only organizations conducting legitimate scientific research with clear public benefits can access the model. The company has controls for eligibility, access, and governance. According to Bloomberg, Wang said the system watches for signs of bioweapons concerns and triggers what the company calls "high-precision flags" if certain thresholds are reached.

After the news about the model, shares of several drug discovery companies dropped. Recursion Pharmaceuticals and Schrodinger each lost more than 5% of their value, IQVIA $IQV Holdings fell by up to 3.2%, and Charles River Laboratories dropped by 2.6%.

AI-powered drug discovery is attracting more investment from pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions, and biotech startups. Precedence Research estimates that the drug industry's investment in AI will reach $2.51 billion in 2026 and $16.49 billion by 2034. OpenAI's move into the life sciences model market comes as competition grows. Google $GOOGL DeepMind's AlphaFold protein-structure prediction system earned its creators a share of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and Anthropic has also expanded its AI tools for science and health care.

OpenAI noted that drug development in the U.S. usually takes about 10 to 15 years from target discovery to regulatory approval. The company argues that using AI early in the process could lead to better target selection and higher-quality experiments later on.