Life Sciences Leaders Embrace AI Agents for Industry Transformation

A recent Salesforce study highlights the growing adoption of AI agents in the life sciences industry, with 96% of leaders believing they will be "essential" within the next two years. The study identifies three key areas where AI can drive transformation: compliance, clinical trials, and healthcare professional (HCP) engagement.

Key Findings

• 96% of life sciences leaders view AI agents as critical.
• 97% emphasize trusted data as essential for effective AI use.
• 81% of R&D leaders are "very excited" about AI integration.

Challenges to Adoption

Despite enthusiasm, barriers remain:

• Security, privacy, and compliance concerns.
• Organizational change management.
• Uncertainty around regulatory guidance.
• Integration with existing tools and workflows.

Only 46% of technical leaders are fully confident in their data's consistency and accuracy.

AI in Healthcare Engagement

Healthcare and pharmaceutical companies spent over $30 billion on advertising in 2024, yet 37% of leaders admit their HCP engagement strategies are ineffective. AI agents can streamline HCP interactions, with top use cases including:

• Summarizing communications (89%).
• Responding to medical inquiries 24/7 (87%).
• Improving advertising and sales engagement (78%).

AI in Clinical Trials

Clinical trials remain costly and delayed, with 57% of leaders citing major disruptions. AI is seen as a solution for:

• Clinical trial site selection (94%).
• Real-time patient outcome insights (92%).
• Participant recruitment and engagement (91%).

Compliance as a Top AI Use Case

64% of leaders report compliance workloads are heavily impacted by regulatory changes. AI is valued for:

• Document generation and contract management.
• Regulatory reporting.
• Streamlining compliance workflows.

For more insights, visit Salesforce's AI stats library.