Tempus AI and Bristol Myers Squibb are doubling down on their partnership, this time with a focus on using artificial intelligence to make clinical trials smarter and more efficient. The companies announced a new collaboration aimed at improving trial design and increasing the probability of success across five initial development programs.

The idea is straightforward: use AI, real-world data, and advanced analytics to refine drug development strategies in oncology and neuroscience. Tempus will bring its AI-enabled platform, Lens, to the table, which can analyze a huge library of de-identified patient records. Bristol Myers Squibb will use those insights to test trial assumptions, identify the right patient populations, and validate control groups more effectively.

In plain English, they want to reduce the guesswork in drug development. Instead of running trials that might fail because the wrong patients were enrolled or the assumptions were off, they're using data to make more informed decisions from the start.

Focus on Oncology and Alzheimer's Disease

The collaboration initially targets several solid tumor cancers, including lung, colon, and prostate cancers. But it doesn't stop there—the companies also plan to extend the effort into neuroscience, specifically Alzheimer's disease.

The goal is to identify patient groups most likely to benefit from experimental therapies while making clinical research more precise. That means fewer failed trials and, hopefully, faster paths to approval for treatments that actually work.

Executives Weigh In on Data-Driven Drug Development

Ryan Fukushima, CEO of Data and Apps at Tempus, said the partnership is about linking clinical records with molecular subtypes to better understand patient biology. "We aim to uncover biological signals tied to unmet patient needs and improve how trial assumptions are evaluated and how patient groups are stratified," he explained.

Bryan Campbell, senior vice president of Drug Development Strategy & Innovation at Bristol Myers Squibb, emphasized the focus on better decision-making. "Combining Tempus' real-world data capabilities with our development expertise could support more disciplined and data-driven study designs, with the goal of bringing treatments to patients more quickly," he said.

Building on an Existing Partnership

This isn't the first time these two have worked together. The new initiative builds on an existing collaboration that includes the Next Pathways program, which is deployed across 13 community-based health systems. That program focuses on addressing care gaps for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

So this is a natural expansion—taking what they've learned and applying it to more disease areas and more sophisticated trial designs.

Market Reaction

As of Thursday's market close, Tempus AI shares were down 0.96% at $45.88, while Bristol Myers Squibb shares were up 0.34% at $56.58. Over the past month, Tempus AI has declined about 3.8%, compared to an 8.7% rise in the S&P 500. Year-to-date, Tempus AI is down roughly 24%, versus the S&P 500's 9.0% gain.

But for investors focused on the long game, this partnership signals that Tempus AI's technology is gaining traction with big pharma. And for Bristol Myers Squibb, it's a bet that data-driven trial design can help bring more drugs to market faster.