AstraZeneca, Tempus and Pathos AI have signed a multi-year agreement to develop a large-scale multimodal deep learning model designed to accelerate cancer drug discovery.
The companies say the foundation model will be used to extract biological and clinical insights, identify novel drug targets, and support the development of new cancer therapies.
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Under the terms of the deal, Tempus will receive $200m in data licencing and model development fees. The company will contribute its large library of de-identified oncology data to help build the model, which will be shared by all three parties once completed.
Tempus’ shares, listed on the Nasdaq exchange, rose 14.6% on 23 April following the announcement, closing at $49.55, up from $43.23 the previous day.
“Generative artificial intelligence (AI) and the emergence of large multimodal models is the final catalyst needed to usher in precision medicine in oncology at scale,” said Tempus’ CEO Eric Lefkofsky. “Tempus has spent the last decade investing billions of dollars into collecting the necessary data needed for a foundation model of this kind to take shape.”
The partnership builds on an existing relationship between Tempus and AstraZeneca. The two companies first teamed up in 2021, announcing an AI-driven oncology R&D alliance. In 2023, they expanded the partnership with the deployment of Tempus’ Next platform to support clinical decision-making for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, helping physicians determine whether patients should undergo guideline-directed molecular testing.
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By GlobalDataAstraZeneca is also advancing its use of AI across multiple areas of drug development.
“Cancer drug discovery and clinical development are being transformed by the ability to analyse vast amounts of rich data using artificial intelligence,” said Jorge Reis-Filho, chief AI and data scientist of oncology R&D at AstraZeneca.
The company has pursued other AI collaborations as well, including a deal with biological simulation company Turbine. Announced in January 2024, the partnership uses AI-driven simulations to explore drug resistance mechanisms in blood cancers, aiming to predict drug interactions and identify potential combination therapies. Unlike traditional lab-based methods, these models can generate millions of simulations to analyse complex biological pathways at a fraction of the time.
AstraZeneca’s senior director in oncology data science Krishna Bulusu recently shared that AI is transforming drug discovery, but its implementation must be thoughtful and strategic. He said at the ELRIG Drug Discovery meeting in London on 11 March 2025 that AI must be a “thought partner” in drug discovery.
The use of AI in drug development continues to gain momentum across the pharma industry. According to a survey by GlobalData, the parent company of Pharmaceutical Technology, AI is considered the most disruptive technology among businesses, including in the healthcare industry.
Earlier in April 2025, Eli Lilly entered a research partnership with BigHat Biosciences to co-develop antibody therapeutics using BigHat’s AI-based Milliner platform. BigHat has also signed agreements with Johnson & Johnson (J&J), AbbVie, MSD, and Amgen.
