Evinova and Bristol Myers Squibb have entered a strategic collaboration to use artificial intelligence to optimise clinical trial design and execution across Bristol Myers Squibb’s global development portfolio.

Under the agreement, Bristol Myers Squibb will deploy the Cost Optimizer module of Evinova’s Study Designer platform to support decision-making in clinical development, with the aim of improving trial design efficiency, reducing costs and accelerating development timelines.

The collaboration focuses on the use of AI to analyse protocol design choices and operational parameters earlier in development, helping to identify productivity opportunities before trials are initiated. Evinova said the approach is intended to support more consistent and data-informed decisions across complex, global clinical programmes.

Cristina Duran, president of Evinova, said the agreement reflects growing demand for AI tools grounded in clinical development expertise. “Drug development is changing rapidly, and life science companies need partners who bring both AI leadership and clinical development expertise to successfully drive transformation,” Duran said. “We’re thrilled to collaborate with Bristol Myers Squibb to drive efficiencies in drug development and accelerate breakthroughs for patients.”

Bristol Myers Squibb said the collaboration aligns with broader efforts to modernise development processes and address long-standing challenges around trial timelines, cost and success rates.

Cristian Massacesi, chief medical officer and head of development at Bristol Myers Squibb, said digital technologies are becoming increasingly central to clinical development strategy. “Transforming clinical development is not just an opportunity; it is an urgent necessity,” Massacesi said. “For years, developing medicines has taken too long, cost too much money, and mostly resulted in failure.”

Massacesi added that AI-enabled tools could help address structural inefficiencies in drug development. “Digital tools and AI can help us overcome these limitations and lay the foundation for better health outcomes for countless individuals in the years to come,” he said.

Evinova’s Study Designer platform is built around an AI-native architecture designed to support protocol design, operational planning and cost modelling. The company said its platform incorporates governance controls intended to support responsible use of AI in clinical development and to ensure transparency in decision-making.

In addition to trial optimisation tools, Evinova offers a broader suite of clinical development technologies that integrate data flows across study design, execution and patient engagement. These include digital tools supporting electronic clinical outcome assessments, remote patient monitoring and telehealth, which are increasingly being used in decentralised and hybrid trial models.

Evinova said its technology has been deployed across multiple global development programmes and is designed to scale across large pharmaceutical portfolios. The company did not disclose financial terms of the agreement.

The collaboration comes as pharmaceutical companies continue to explore AI-driven approaches to improve clinical trial productivity amid rising development costs, increasing protocol complexity and growing competition for patients and trial sites.

Both companies said the agreement is focused on improving how trials are designed and delivered rather than replacing clinical or regulatory decision-making, with AI intended to support earlier insight generation and more efficient execution.