Following its recently announced partnership with Novo Nordisk, OpenAI is introducing a new reasoning model, GPT-Rosalind, to support research in biology, drug discovery and translational medicine.
The model is named after English researcher Rosalind Franklin, whose work was essential to understanding the molecular structures of DNA, RNA and viruses, OpenAI explained in an April 17 announcement.
GPT-Rosalind is designed to reduce the time between target discovery and drug approval, a process that typically takes 10-15 years, according to industry group PhRMA. The model is now available as a research preview in ChatGPT, Codex and the API for customers through OpenAI’s trusted access program.
Advancing AI into drug R&D have been all the rage of late, but a January PitchBook report found that though more than $17 billion has been invested in AI-driven drug discovery since 2019, AI-developed drugs have yet to reach large-scale trials. That hasn’t stopped Big Pharma from trying.
Last week, OpenAI and Novo Nordisk entered into a partnership to analyze complex datasets, identify promising drug candidates and shorten overall R&D timelines. Eli Lilly established its own collaboration with OpenAI in 2024 to discover novel medicines targeting drug-resistant bacteria and also partnered with Nvidia last year to develop an industry-leading supercomputer.
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Because drug development requires researchers to process large volumes of literature, databases and experimental data in time-sensitive environments, OpenAI has touted GPT-Rosalind as a way to “explore more possibilities, surface connections that might otherwise be missed, and arrive at better hypotheses sooner.”
OpenAI said GPT-Rosalind is the first model in its life sciences series and plans to expand its biochemical reasoning capabilities. The company is already working with biopharma and research organizations—including Amgen, Moderna, the Allen Institute and Thermo Fisher Scientific—to apply the technology across the discovery process.
“Our unique collaboration with OpenAI enables us to apply its most advanced capabilities and tools in new and innovative ways, with the potential to accelerate how we deliver medicines to patients,” said Sean Bruich, SVP of artificial intelligence and data at Amgen, said in the same release.
