Pharma adopts data-science culture in move toward AI

To whom does pharma turn when facing cutting-edge research challenges such as designing algorithms to comb unstructured EHR data hunting for undiagnosed patients? Who helps glean patient insights from digital data streams such as social media? Who is designing the value-based frameworks behind pharma's latest wave of performance-based agreements with payers? These are just some of the tasks being fielded by data scientists, a new kind of insight and analytics professional showing up in the biopharma ranks. These experts, skilled as they are in advanced data techniques, are being seriously courted by the industry. It's with diversity in mind -- diversity not only in skill set, but also in experience," reports Sandy Allerheiligen, Merck VP of predictive and economic modeling, at September's AI and the Near-term seminar organized by the consultancy Luminary Labs.