Bristol-Myers’ (other) cancer-focused deal

Bristol-Myers Squibb, the latest major drug maker to buy into the promise of artificial intelligence, unveiled a buzzword-laden deal this morning that promises lots of “real-world data” and enough “machine learning” to make it valuable.

The pharmaceutical utility of such technology remains open for debate, as STAT’s Casey Ross points out, but Bristol-Myers has plenty of incentive to take a gamble.

The company once led the immuno-oncology market with the cancer-killing Opdivo only to see Merck’s rival Keytruda succeed where Bristol-Myers’ drug had failed. Many experts believe the two drugs are basically interchangeable and credit Merck for simply designing better clinical trials. Bristol-Myers’s AI partnership, meant to inform drug development decisions, could help the company avoid a repeat situation.

Read more.