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India will rely on generative AI to accelerate drug discovery and bolster clinical research, Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh said on Friday, adding that fears that the technology will replace scientists are unfounded and that AI will only enhance decision-making, not replace experts.
Singh said technology was already reshaping how pharmaceutical and biotech companies operate. "In drug discovery, generative AI is creating value in clinical trial protocol development, in clinical trial execution, in quality assurance and regulatory submissions," he said at the 7th CII Pharma and Lifesciences Summit 2025 at New Delhi. He added that the widely expressed fear that AI would make human researchers redundant was unfounded. "There is also a constant dialogue that we will lose jobs. Is AI likely to replace scientists? No, this is not going to be the case, definitely not. It does not replace us. It makes us better." Singh said those using AI would "certainly outperform those who do not." The minister said AI adoption was helping reduce errors and delays in drug approval processes. He pointed to persistent problems in dossiers submitted to regulators, calling traceability and documentation gaps a major cause of rework. This, he said, is "where generative AI... can be very, very helpful... making sure that we do things the first time right." Singh said India's digital infrastructure, scientific talent, and government initiatives, such as India AI, positioned the country to become a global hub for AI-enabled life sciences innovation. He added that generative AI was also transforming supply chain predictability, pharmacovigilance and safety analytics, areas that have traditionally faced data and monitoring constraints. India's life sciences sector, he said, was entering a period of strategic transformation. "India's life sciences sector enters 2025 at a defining moment... trusted for quality, scale and affordability," he said, adding that the challenge now was: "How do we move from this scale to innovation?" He noted that long-term reforms, such as the production-linked incentive scheme, regulatory simplification, and a clearer patent regime, had laid the foundation for an innovation-led industry. Singh said companies that adopt sustainability early and align with investor expectations would lead the next phase of growth. Pointing to progress in domestic vaccine innovation, he highlighted Panacea Biotech's development of a single-shot dengue vaccine, which recently completed a phase-three trial involving 11,000 participants. "If Panacea Biotech from India can innovate, many more companies from India can innovate while ensuring affordability and production at scale," he said. Singh called for industry, government, regulators, academia and global partners to work "as one entity" to help India become a life sciences powerhouse by 2047. (ANI)
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