The chief executive of Ribbon Biolabs has called for faster adoption of AI and synthetic biology tools in pharmaceutical research, arguing that regulatory complexity, data caution and fragmented workflows continue to slow down drug development despite rapid scientific progress.

Speaking in an interview with Discover Pharma in Vienna, CEO Jodi Barrientos described the pharmaceutical sector as being at a “precipice” in DNA-driven innovation, particularly in areas such as personalised medicine and synthetic biology, but said progress is being constrained by cautious implementation of emerging technologies.

Barrientos said the industry remains structurally slow to adopt new tools, despite advances in artificial intelligence, automation and gene synthesis.

“I think pharma is such a regulated industry with such bizarre political headwinds right now that it’s just really, really hard,” she said. “We tend to work in verticals in the process instead of working collectively to move things forward faster.”

She argued that better integration between technology providers and pharmaceutical companies could shorten the path from early discovery to clinical development.

At Ribbon, Barrientos described the company as a “software-driven biology” organisation, combining DNA synthesis capabilities with computational tools to streamline therapeutic development.

She said the company is increasingly embedding artificial intelligence into its workflows, but stressed that data governance remains a major challenge for the sector and stressed the importance of being careful about data protection.

Barrientos also warned that companies that fail to adopt AI responsibly risk being left behind.

“You have to embrace it or get left behind,” she said.

Beyond technology adoption, she highlighted a broader cultural and talent challenge in life sciences, describing how her own career path shifted from nursing into immunology research after discovering a stronger alignment with laboratory-based science.

She said the experience reflects a wider issue in how young women are guided into healthcare careers.

“I think a lot of young girls are automatically drawn or pushed into healthcare roles like nursing,” she said. “But there are so many more roles in science than people are shown early on.”

Barrientos also reflected on the pace of change in biotechnology, particularly in DNA synthesis and its potential role in personalised medicine.

“We’re just at the beginning of really understanding the impact,” she said. “We can create change in disease states, in food scarcity, in all of these incredibly important moments of the world.”

She added that advances in DNA technology could significantly shorten timelines for treating complex diseases, including cancers and neurological conditions, but warned that urgency in funding and development still lags behind scientific capability.

“There is an inherent risk in waiting,” she said. “People are dying and they don’t need to, because we can get there.”

The comments come as Ribbon continues to expand its work in synthetic biology and DNA synthesis tools, with Barrientos indicating the company is preparing further announcements in the near term.

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