Key takeaway
Eli Lilly’s jump to #1 on the CB Insights Pharma AI Readiness Index reflects a broader truth: the pharma companies winning the AI race are those treating AI as core R&D infrastructure, not as an innovation lab experiment.
Lilly jumped to #1, Merck to #2, Roche fell to 5th, while J&J, Novartis, and GSK dropped out of the Top 10. AI in pharma R&D shows huge potential but limited delivery so far.
What the index measures
The CB Insights Pharma AI Readiness Index ranks the top 20 global pharma companies across four dimensions: data infrastructure maturity, AI partnership breadth, internal AI talent density, and demonstrated AI-driven pipeline impact.
The index has become a leading indicator for investors and partners assessing which pharma companies are positioned for the AI-driven R&D paradigm.
Key movers: Lilly rises, Roche falls
Eli Lilly rose to #1 driven by its proprietary real-world evidence platform (100M+ patient records), 14 active AI partnerships (including Recursion, Isomorphic Labs, Insilico Medicine), and 5 of 12 Phase I programs using AI-driven target identification.
Merck climbed to #2 with its Absci partnership for AI-designed antibodies and 400+ ML engineers.
Roche fell from #2 to #5 despite having the industry’s richest data assets (Flatiron Health, Foundation Medicine) — its AI investments focused more on diagnostics than pipeline acceleration.
Top 10 rankings
The complete Top 10 with scores and key AI initiatives.
| Rank | Company | Score | Change | Key AI Initiative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eli Lilly | 88 | +2 | 14 AI partnerships; 5/12 Phase I programs AI-driven |
| 2 | Merck | 85 | +2 | 400+ ML engineers; Absci antibody design |
| 3 | AstraZeneca | 83 | — | BenevolentAI partnership; AI clinical trial optimization |
| 4 | Pfizer | 80 | +1 | AI-powered mRNA platform; Albert AI engine |
| 5 | Roche | 78 | -3 | Flatiron/FMI data assets; Genentech AI research |
| 6 | Sanofi | 75 | +2 | Exscientia partnership; AI biologics manufacturing |
| 7 | Takeda | 73 | New | AI drug discovery with Schrödinger |
| 8 | Amgen | 71 | +1 | AI-designed BiTE molecules; deCode Genetics |
| 9 | Boehringer Ingelheim | 69 | New | Google Cloud AI partnership |
| 10 | Bristol Myers Squibb | 67 | +3 | AI biomarker discovery; Recursion partnership |
What separates AI-ready pharma from laggards
Three differentiators emerge. First, data infrastructure is the foundation — every Top 5 company owns proprietary real-world evidence platforms. Second, diversified partnership portfolios outperform concentrated bets. Third, demonstrated pipeline impact separates intention from execution.
J&J, Novartis, and GSK all fell out of the Top 10 due to organizational disruption — corporate restructurings and leadership changes created gaps that competitors exploited.
The laggards are not lacking AI tools; they are lacking the organizational architecture to use them.