Novo Nordisk Taps Danish Supercomputer to Accelerate AI-Driven Drug Discovery

Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical giant, has taken a significant step forward in its artificial intelligence (AI) ambitions by securing access to Denmark's first supercomputer, Gefion. This move underscores the growing importance of AI and high-performance computing in the pharmaceutical industry's quest to revolutionize drug discovery and development processes.

Gefion: A New Era of Computational Power

Launched in Novo Nordisk's hometown of Copenhagen, Gefion is based on NVIDIA's DGX SuperPOD data center infrastructure platform. The supercomputer, ranked as the twenty-first most powerful in the world, was funded through a public-private partnership between the Novo Nordisk Foundation and the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark.

Nadia Carlsten, Ph.D., CEO of the Danish Center for AI Innovation, which owns and operates Gefion, emphasized the transformative potential of this collaboration: "Working alongside Novo Nordisk, we can use Gefion to redefine what is possible in drug research. With Gefion's computational power, we can tackle the toughest R&D challenges, with the ultimate goal of delivering actionable insights that can shave months off development timelines and unlock new possibilities for pharmaceutical research and development."

Novo Nordisk's AI-Driven Research Strategy

The multiyear agreement allows Novo Nordisk to harness Gefion's computational power to process vast datasets, aiming to transform drug discovery and development processes. Lars Fogh Iversen, Ph.D., senior vice president of external and exploratory innovation at Novo Nordisk, highlighted specific applications, stating that Gefion will enable the company to "tackle compute-heavy challenges, like AI-based protein engineering and biological models."

This partnership with Gefion is part of a broader AI strategy for Novo Nordisk. The company has recently committed up to $190 million in near-term payments to apply Valo Health's AI expertise to up to 20 programs. Additionally, Novo Nordisk is collaborating with NVIDIA to explore innovative AI use cases for drug discovery, including the use of NVIDIA's BioNeMo generative AI platform and Omniverse platform for creating physically accurate simulation environments.

The Pharmaceutical Industry's AI Revolution

The integration of AI and high-performance computing in pharmaceutical research represents a paradigm shift in the industry. Rory Kelleher, senior director of business development for life sciences at NVIDIA, succinctly captured this transformation: "The pharma industry is becoming a technology industry with every aspect of the value chain being reimagined with AI. AI Factories like DCAI's Gefion Supercomputer are the essential instrument to help companies like Novo Nordisk transform proprietary enterprise data into customized models and agents for biomedical research, drug discovery, and beyond."

As pharmaceutical companies increasingly leverage AI and supercomputing capabilities, the industry is poised for accelerated innovation in drug discovery, development, and ultimately, patient care. Novo Nordisk's partnership with Gefion marks a significant milestone in this ongoing revolution, potentially setting new standards for AI-driven pharmaceutical research.