[DigitalToday Seung-a Yoo] Anthropic has started an internal drug discovery program as part of its strategy to develop artificial intelligence tools aimed at pharmaceutical companies.

On June 30 local time, CNBC and other foreign media reported that Anthropic plans to prioritise finding treatments for neglected diseases that traditional biopharmaceutical companies have not viewed as attractive targets, as it steps up efforts to enter the healthcare market.

The plan was unveiled at an event in San Francisco. Eric Kauderer-Abrams (에릭 코더러-에이브럼스), head of life sciences at Anthropic, said the company needs to experience the drug development process firsthand to build proper models, products and tools for the pharmaceutical industry. "To make the right models, products and tools that will accelerate the industry, we believe we also need to do that work directly with you," he said.

Anthropic introduced the program not as a simple research project but as an effort linked to its life sciences AI product strategy. The company recently launched Claude Science and is seeking to secure pharmaceutical and life sciences companies as customers. It aims to reflect on-the-ground needs in its products more quickly through in-house drug discovery experience.

Kauderer-Abrams said, "We believe in the power of a tight feedback loop," adding, "There is nothing that can replace the experience of being on the front lines of drug discovery." The remarks show that Anthropic aims to improve its tools by taking part directly in research processes rather than only providing AI for external customers.

Anthropic did not specify what steps it would take after finding a promising drug candidate. Traditional biopharmaceutical companies typically move such candidates into clinical trials. At the current stage, it appears to place more weight on increasing the use of AI in the drug discovery process than on commercialising the drug itself.

The company is particularly targeting neglected diseases that large biopharmaceutical companies rank low in priority in terms of profitability or business viability. Jonah Cool (조나 쿨), head of life sciences partnerships, explained that Anthropic's goal is to focus on neglected disease research while also building AI tools to sell to life sciences companies.

Big Tech's push into healthcare is not new. Alphabet and Apple have entered the medical market in various ways, and Amazon has expanded its healthcare business through acquisitions of One Medical and PillPack. That business is now part of Amazon Health Services.

Against that backdrop, Anthropic's approach is closer to selling AI products directly to drugmakers while also building an internal track record of drug discovery cases. Healthcare has long been a target market for technology companies, but results have been mixed. How Anthropic links neglected disease research with Claude Science and turns that into customer acquisition will be a key point to watch.