OpenAI Releases Policy Report to Promote AI in Life Sciences, But No AI-Discovered Drug Has Passed Phase III Clinical Trials

OpenAI's policy team released a report calling for expanded AI applications in life sciences, including opening more medical data, treating advanced AI as a national research resource, and increasing investment in infrastructure like computing power. The report claims AI can accelerate drug discovery, shorten clinical trial timelines by over 20%, and GPT-5 Pro can find new uses for approved drugs for diseases without effective treatments.

However, there is a gap between vision and reality: currently only a few AI-discovered drugs have entered clinical trials, and none have passed phase III. A 2025 Nature Medicine paper shows AI drugs have the same phase II failure rate as traditional drugs, and whether AI can sustainably disrupt drug development remains a question.

OpenAI's policy demands essentially aim to secure market access for its products. In the same week, Amazon also launched Bio Discovery, an AI drug molecule generation tool, as tech giants rush to enter this field.