Key facts
- Amgen CEO Bob Bradway champions 'autodidact' leaders comfortable with uncertainty in the AI era.
- Bradway has required his senior executive team to take AI courses and engages in 'vibe-coding'.
- Amgen acquired DeCODE Genetics in 2012, betting on data and AI for drug discovery.
- The company uses AI for protein folding models and zero-shot antibody design.
- Amgen is now selecting drug candidates for clinical development approximately 50% faster.
- Bradway aims to implement agentic AI by 2026 to automate researchers' administrative tasks.
Amgen CEO Bob Bradway is a proponent of artificial intelligence, describing ideal leaders in the AI era as 'autodidacts' who are curious, self-taught, and comfortable with uncertainty. Bradway himself engages in 'vibe-coding' and has mandated AI courses for his executive team. He believes AI can significantly enhance drug discovery, a field built on deep scientific expertise. Amgen's strategic investment in AI began in 2012 with the acquisition of DeCODE Genetics, a move that was met with skepticism but has since led to advancements like proprietary protein folding models and zero-shot antibody design. These AI initiatives have accelerated Amgen's drug candidate selection process by approximately 50%. Bradway's next focus is agentic AI, with a goal to implement it by 2026 to automate administrative tasks for researchers, allowing them more time for core scientific work. He acknowledges the public's distrust and anxiety surrounding AI, emphasizing the need for transparency. Despite the challenges, Bradway remains optimistic about AI's return on investment, contrasting it with the longer timelines typical in biotech.