Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) has entered into a strategic agreement with Schrödinger to integrate Bunsen, an AI co-scientist platform, into its ongoing research operations. The expanded agreement builds on an established partnership in which BMS already utilizes Schrödinger’s computational platform for various drug discovery projects.
Expanding Technological Integration Across Scientific Teams
Under the new arrangement, BMS scientific teams will scale the use of Schrödinger technologies, including the Bunsen AI co-scientist platform and RetroSynth, an AI-driven synthesis planning system. The collaboration aims to enable researchers to explore chemical space more extensively, prioritize molecular candidates with increased confidence, and support decision-making in the early stages of drug discovery.
Bunsen is designed as an agentic AI co-scientist tailored to perform complex workflows in molecular design and computational research. It carries out Schrödinger’s physics-based computational methods, conducts planning and interpretation tasks, and integrates with other research technologies. Complementing this, RetroSynth enables high-throughput evaluation of chemical synthesis planning pathways to evaluate candidate structures efficiently.
Statements from Leadership
Robert Abel, chief scientific officer of the Schrödinger platform, said, “BMS is a long-standing customer and collaborator, and they have been an industry leader in integrating computation into drug discovery. We are thrilled they are deploying Bunsen at a large scale. Adopting Bunsen and our computational platform at scale will empower a broader group of scientists to embrace a predict-first computational approach.”
Stephen Johnson, vice president of computational sciences at BMS, said, “Over the past several years, AI has become a key enabler for our scientists, allowing them to scale their creativity and scientific expertise across our research organisation. Bunsen is another capability we are adding to that toolkit, one that allows our scientists to think differently about how physics-based tools can be used to navigate molecular design space and accelerate the discovery of innovative medicines for patients.”
Core Capabilities and Recent Computational Developments
Schrödinger’s software platform combines artificial intelligence with physics-based simulation to support hypothesis evaluation and synthetic feasibility in molecular research. The organization’s computational solutions are licensed by entities across the global pharmaceutical, biotechnology, industrial, and academic sectors.
