IBM is ending sales of Watson for Drug Discovery

IBM is stopping development and sales of its tool that utilizes Watson AI to help pharmaceutical companies find new drugs, according to a STAT report. A source told STAT that the product, Watson for Drug Discovery, wasn’t yielding large enough financial returns. The source noted that some IBM employees were recently informed of the decision, and it prompted a process to revaluate IBM’s work in the pharma industry and look at other opportunities. IBM did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, IBM spokesman Edward Barbini told STAT that the company will continue serving customers already using the tool to analyse data for R&D. “We are focusing our resources within Watson Health to double down on the adjacent field of clinical development where we see an even greater market need for our data and AI capabilities,” Barbini told STAT.