US companies Gilead Sciences and IT company Cognizant have announced an expansion of their collaboration to expedite digital transformation.

The agreement comprises renewal and expansion of services offered by Cognizant for $800m for the coming five years.

Under the partnership, Cognizant will handle Gilead’s international IT infrastructure, applications, advanced analytics and platforms.

The IT company will also take charge of programmes intended at expediting digital transformation for boosting client experience and quicker time to market for medicines of Gilead.

Through this deal, Gilead anticipates streamlining several segments of its business to expedite faster marketing of its assets for serious ailments, such as cancer, HIV and viral hepatitis.

Cognizant will also enable Gilead in expanding cloud operations and transforming business digitally utilising generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and AI automation. 

The usage of GenAI is intended to offer improved transparency about Gilead’s medicines to patients as well as internal staff across the globe. 

The Neuro IT solution of Cognizant will be used by Gilead to carry out AI automation innovation, enabling the latter to speed up the commercialisation of its products. 

Gilead Sciences senior vice-president and chief information officer Marc Berson said: “Over the past three years, Cognizant has demonstrated quality delivery, adaptability and dedication to Gilead's success. 

“Through this collaboration, Cognizant has provided critical expertise to progress our digital transformation journey while enabling stable, secure operations. 

“This has allowed us to advance research and commercialization of transformative treatments for some of the world's most challenging diseases.” 

The latest development comes after Gilead entered partnerships with the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) and the Penta ID network to speed up the development of dispersible HIV treatment for children.