Sponsors Talk AI: Novartis' Take On The Evolving Role Of AI In Clinical Trials

Artificial intelligence is redefining how clinical trials are designed, managed, and analyzed — moving the industry beyond digitization and into true data intelligence. In a recent AI in Business podcast hosted by Emerj, Zhong Lu, Director of Data Science and AI at Novartis, shared how one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies is embedding AI across the clinical development lifecycle to drive speed, quality, and compliance.

Lu detailed how AI is helping Novartis unify structured and unstructured data, apply document intelligence to streamline content-heavy processes, and use responsible generative AI to support scientific decision-making. This transformation enables trial teams to anticipate risks, identify early safety signals, and generate insights faster, all while maintaining regulatory precision and patient trust.

The discussion also explored how decentralized and hybrid trial models are becoming more efficient through AI-enabled monitoring, and how federated learning and digital twins are fostering collaboration and innovation without compromising data privacy. Throughout, Novartis’s approach emphasizes governance, explainability, and scalability, ensuring AI enhances human expertise rather than replacing it.

For organizations navigating the complexities of modern clinical research, Lu’s insights highlight a clear path toward intelligent, connected operations that bring new therapies to patients faster and more responsibly.