Pfizer has entered a collaboration with IBM Watson to utilize its drug discovery technology to help accelerate research in immuno-oncology. Pfizer is among the first organizations to deploy Watson for Drug Discovery, and the first to customize the cloud-based cognitive tool, which taps in to Watson’s machine learning, natural language processing, and other cognitive reasoning technologies to support the identification of new drug targets, combination therapies, and patient selection strategies.

Pfizer will use Watson for Drug Discovery to analyze massive volumes of disparate data sources, including licensed and publicly available data as well as Pfizer’s proprietary data. With this new tool, Pfizer will analyze and test hypotheses to generate evidence-based insights for real-time interaction. The customized technology also aims to support efficient safety assessments.

“Pfizer remains committed to staying at the forefront of immuno-oncology research,” said Mikael Dolsten, president, Pfizer Worldwide R&D. “With the incredible volume of data and literature available in this complex field, we believe that tapping into advanced technologies can help our scientific experts more rapidly identify novel combinations of immune-modulating agents. We are hopeful that by leveraging Watson’s cognitive capabilities in our drug discovery efforts, we will be able to bring promising new immuno-oncology therapeutics to patients more quickly.”

“We believe that the next great medical innovations will emerge as researchers and scientists find new patterns in existing bodies of knowledge. In order to do this, they need access to R&D tools that can help them efficiently navigate the opportunities and challenges presented by the explosion of data globally,” said Lauren O’Donnell, vice president of Life Sciences, IBM Watson Health. “IBM is honored to collaborate with Pfizer, and put Watson for Drug Discovery to work to support efforts in bringing life-saving immunotherapies to doctors and patients worldwide.”