Jeff Leiden of Vertex says AI drug breakthroughs remain elusive

Business Nov 04, 2026

There's a lot of hype about AI curing most diseases soon, but pharmaceutical leaders aren't buying it just yet.

Jeff Leiden of Vertex says he's seen about 50 AI companies try and fail to deliver real drugs.

While Anthropic's Dario Amodei is optimistic about AI's future in healthcare, the big breakthroughs haven't happened.

Experts say human AI collaboration needed

Drug discovery is super complex: AI can help, but it can't crack human biology on its own.

Even with $8.4 billion poured into AI drug research in 2025, results are still lagging.

AstraZeneca's CEO Pascal Soriot warns against expecting instant cancer cures from tech alone.

Experts agree: for now, real progress means humans and AI teaming up rather than going solo.