Looking for "Enemy Action" The healthcare industry is witnessing a groundbreaking trend: the integration of artificial intelligence – something I’ve been following and reporting on here at Smart Money. Neuralink’s PRIME experiment, of course, is major step in connecting healthcare and AI. However, this “biotech gold rush,” is also evident through the actions of big pharma companies that are actively acquiring AI-focused firms to revolutionize drug discovery and accelerate innovation across the entire healthcare value chain. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) serves as a prime example of this trend, demonstrating both the potential and challenges of AI adoption. Bristol-Myers is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, with a number of drugs that treat diseases in immunology, cardiovascular, and oncology. This portfolio includes blockbuster drugs like Eliquis, a blood anticoagulant for stroke patients, and Opdivo, used for the treatment of advanced-stage non-small cell lung cancer. Bristol-Myers CEO Chris Boerner insists that the company’s highly profitable “legacy cash-generating portfolio” will continue generating ample cash, while the company bulks up its drug portfolio to become “one of the fastest-growing companies in the sector by the end of the decade.” To achieve that goal, the pharmaceutical giant has been rapidly expanding its roster of AI collaborations. Earlier this year, for example, the company struck a new AI partnership with VantAI. This $674 million drug discovery deal will focus on using VantAI’s generative AI (GenAI) platform to design and develop molecular glues – a type of small molecule that induces or stabilizes interactions between two proteins that would not normally go together. Prior to this deal, Bristol-Myers struck AI collaborations with… - PathAI, to utilize AI-powered pathology in translational research and clinical trials.
- Owkin, to use that company’s AI platform to help design and execute clinical trials for Bristol-Myers’ cardiovascular drug candidates.
- Exscientia PLC (EXAI), a pioneer in using AI to precision-engineer drugs, to develop and commercialize one of that company’s most promising therapies.
- And Terray Therapeutics Inc. (TGTX), to use generative AI to discover and develop small molecule compounds against various disease targets that Bristol-Myers selects.
Bristol-Myers strategic AI-focused acquisitions showcase its commitment to the AI healthcare trend, albeit with some financial setbacks. Despite a $12.1 billion write-off – which signaled concerns from Wall Street – BMY’s second-quarter report beat expectations, coming in at $2.07 earnings per share and $12.2 billion in revenue. Bristol-Myers is one of the pharma industry’s leaders in inking lucrative partnerships, and I believe that its dominant oncology portfolio gives it an enormous edge in developing future cancer therapies. Perhaps Bristol might someday even build on Musk’s Neuralink efforts with cancer-saving nanobots. While facing patent expirations and a wait for AI drug discovery payoffs, BMY’s current valuation of 7.3 forward earnings suggests potential for investors who recognize the long-term value of AI in healthcare. Bristol’s actions illustrate how major players in the healthcare industry are not just dabbling in AI, but also making significant investments and strategic decisions based on its potential to innovate and transform the sector. Get Ready for Transformative Change Beyond healthcare AI… we’re also seeing innovations in artificial general intelligence (AGI). Musk has even stated that AGI is “capable of vastly more than anyone knows, and the rate of improvement is exponential.” This rapid evolution of AI poses profound questions about the role of humanity. In a recent 8.5-hour-long interview between Musk and the Neuralink team and computer scientist/podcaster Lex Friedman, Musk suggested in that “there is some argument for humans as a source of will” as these technologies advance. And Neuralink’s brain-computer interface devices, he suggests, represent a step toward bridging the gap between human cognition and machine intelligence. So, the relentless march of technological progress continues, fueled by visionaries like Musk. The convergence of AI, neurotechnology, and other transformative fields points the way toward AGI – a development that could drastically alter the human condition… and life as we know it. I’ll delve deeper into the “Road to AGI” soon with special video event and a series of reports for members of my elite trading service The Speculator. Stay tuned. This presentation is coming up next week… and you should get your invite to it as soon as this Friday. Regards, | 
