Pharma first started using artificial intelligence in the clinical and development space, but over the last two years, the industry has expanded its use, according to Sandy Donaldson, cofounder president and chief of strategy of Impiricus, a health technology company that provides an AI-powered engagement platform.

Over the last two years, AI has been used across the pharma life cycle in manufacturing, lab operations and supply chain management, said Donaldson, who works with 30 of the top pharmaceutical companies.

What has also increased is government oversight. Despite a lack of a framework at the federal level, there’s an increased need for transparency in the U.S. at the state level and from the EU, and these are becoming more stringent, he said.

“What we’re seeing is an increased focus on government controls, explainability of decisions, traceability of audit trails and there’s going to be increased regulation on these new areas within pharma that are starting to embrace AI,” Donaldson said.

In good news for pharma, patients, providers and for rest the healthcare, AI should decrease the amount of time it takes to bring a new drug to market, which may also lower its cost.

For more, listen here to Donaldson’s conversation with Susan Morse, executive editor of Healthcare Finance News.