Inside STAT: IBM halting sales of Watson AI tool for drug discovery amid sluggish growth

IBM is halting the sale and development of Watson for Drug Discovery, citing lackluster performance of the product that uses the company’s Watson artificial intelligence software to help pharmaceutical companies discover new drugs. The decision marks the highest-profile setback in the company’s effort to apply artificial intelligence to various domains in health care. Just last year, the company scaled back on the hospital side of the business, and it has also struggled with a product to assist doctors in treating cancer patients. The most recent decision triggered a months-long process to reevaluate IBM’s work in the pharmaceutical sector, according to a person familiar with the company’s internal decision-making. Casey Ross has the exclusive for STAT Plus subscribers here.