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May 20, 2024

Amgen empowers its global workforce with Microsoft Copilot, shaping the future of healthcare

Amgen, one of the world’s leading biotechnology companies, is known for pioneering biologics for serious diseases. It’s leveraging tech like advanced data analytics and AI paired with de-identified human data to transform drug discovery and development. Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 is an important part of this approach, boosting productivity and fostering a more inclusive global workforce. This strategic use of AI not only has the potential to speed up drug development but also supports advancements in Amgen’s business processes.

AMGEN

“Copilot gives all of us the gift of time. Every bit of time that we can find matters, because it means getting medicines to people that need it.”

Mike Zahigian, Chief Information Officer, Amgen

Merging technology with biotech to speed drug development

As a biopharmaceutical powerhouse, Amgen stands out in its industry as one of the first to pioneer the use of biologics to treat some of the world’s toughest diseases. Founded in 1980, the company helped establish the biotechnology industry and remains on the cutting edge of innovation, using technology and human genetic data to push beyond what’s known today. Its commitment to research and development has yielded a robust pipeline focused on cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, inflammatory diseases, and rare diseases.

Amgen was one of the earliest in the industry to develop the machinery and processes to make complex biologic medicines at scale. “We have a proud heritage of developing biologics for some of the world’s toughest diseases, and we believe our manufacturing capability helps differentiate us,” says Mike Zahigian, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Amgen. “Today, we are accelerating our science with technology and data to help target diseases with high unmet need,” he adds.

Dr. David Reese, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Amgen, believes the industry is at a “hinge moment,” a pivotal era when technology and biotech are converging to revolutionize the entire drug development process. “The unification of tech and biotech qualitatively changes the entire spectrum of what we do, from drug discovery and development to manufacturing and commercialization,” he says. “The goal is to get great new medicines in the hands of patients around the world who have serious illnesses and affect the global public health.” At the same time, Amgen’s industry is facing challenges like price deflation and shorter drug lifecycles, which can force companies to scale back research and development (R&D), shift toward blockbuster drugs, or consolidate. To address these headwinds and keep accelerating research and time to market, the company is pioneering the use of advanced data analytics, genomics, and AI. Realizing that innovation happens everywhere, Amgen wanted to democratize the use of AI and make it available to nearly everyone at its company, from manufacturing teams and knowledge workers to researchers.

Buy-in to Copilot from a top-down approach

Realizing AI has the potential to accelerate innovation and empower employees by significantly enhancing productivity and efficiency, Amgen rolled out Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 and scaled from 300 users in the Early Access Program to now include 20,000 employees worldwide with access to Copilot. “When we had the opportunity with Microsoft [and Copilot], we put our hands up because we thought the hinge moment is here,” says Reese. “And if you believe that, then you want to start developing an educated, highly sophisticated workforce that’s able to use this new technology.”

Before Amgen employees could jump in and start using Copilot, the company came up with a deliberate plan to help ensure success. Leadership communicated that the AI and Copilot initiative at the company was not solely technology-driven but wanted all business units to get engaged, promoting widespread commitment and involvement. Amgen prioritized a business-driven approach to its Copilot initiative, and the project was launched with hands-on demonstrations for 700 leaders. Regional executives acted as sponsors, setting up engagement opportunities in Microsoft Viva Engage communities to foster adoption across the company and invite employees to actively participate and stay informed. To gauge progress, Amgen is beginning to explore sharing Microsoft Viva Insights data about Copilot to offer managers a clearer understanding of team adoption rates and usage.

“I’ve made a habit before each meeting—I have Copilot summarize the presentation to jog my memory, and it clearly sharpens my analytical skills and helps me organize Amgen’s vast troves of data.”

Dr. David Reese, CTO, Amgen

From data overload to insight-driven decisions

Across manufacturing, in the lab, or in the office, AI and Copilot are fundamentally changing the way Amgen employees get their work done and how the company operates. “When I think about my day-to-day routine, I have a lot of email, like a lot of people do,” Zahigian explains. “Some of these email threads are a mile long, and I want Copilot to just give me a lay of the land before I dive into it. I don’t read an email thread anymore without summarizing it first with Copilot.” Zahigian also notes that Copilot helps foster a more inclusive organization by giving staff in different regions access to information in their native languages. “We’re a global company, so there’s some magic that Copilot does to help translate things,” he says. “We’re doing translation with Copilot, which gives us speed and cost benefit, enabling us to expand translations to more materials and staff than ever before.” This change not only speeds up processes and saves costs but also supports Amgen’s aim to be more globally integrated and inclusive. 

With several hundred pages’ worth of pre-meeting material every week to go through, Reese has found a reading partner. “I’ve made a habit before each meeting—I have Copilot summarize that presentation to jog my memory, and it clearly sharpens my analytical skills and helps me organize Amgen’s vast troves of data,” he explains.

For a scientist with a new drug idea, the time-consuming data analysis that used to take days is now streamlined into moments with new technologies. “Copilot helps our employees increase their daily productivity,” says Zahigian. “It also aids in reimagining and optimizing our longstanding business processes across research and development, manufacturing, and marketing,” he adds. This immediate efficiency gain from modern technologies compounds over the lifetime of a molecule, from concept to marketing authorization. The potential for accelerated drug development and increased efficiency is already transforming the field in real time. “We now use Copilot on a daily basis,” says Reese. As he points out, Amgen has 45 years’ worth of protein engineering data and 290 petabytes of genetic and related data. “So when I think about Copilot, it’s really across that spectrum, and the immediate impact is making us more efficient.“

“Our commitment to deliver medicines for every patient every time is at the heart of what we do, and to do that requires safety, quality, and compliance,” says Arleen Paulino, Senior Vice President of Manufacturing at Amgen. “At every step of the biomanufacturing process, we’re actively deploying technologies and innovation to allow us to create the best ways in which we can produce medicines for patients,” she explains. “The goal is to make complex information easily manageable and actionable, enhancing productivity and speeding up the innovation cycle.”

“Copilot isn’t a replacement for the expertise and the talent we have; it’s a tool that allows us to expedite our work and get to new innovation faster.”

Arleen Paulino, SVP of Manufacturing, Amgen

Copilot is the solution to faster research and better business practices

The ability of Copilot to retrieve information instantly saves time and supports decision making across different business units and regions. “Adopting Copilot and generative AI is important for Amgen and our industry,” says Zahigian. “These technologies have the potential to accelerate our research processes, reduce the time to market for new medicines, and optimize our overall operational efficiency.”

“Copilot isn’t a replacement for the expertise and the talent we have; it’s a tool that allows us to expedite our work and get to new innovation faster,” says Paulino.

Amgen plans to enhance Copilot by adding custom plugins and better incorporate data into Microsoft Graph connectors. This will optimize user efficiency with tools like Microsoft Teams, centralize data, and make information easier to find. “We really believe in Copilot and the power of Microsoft Graph,” says Zahigian. “The more accurate data we have, the better for us, and the better for those who are focused on ways to speed potential new medicines to patients.”

The company is also actively developing and testing these capabilities, with a significant focus on using data repositories such as Microsoft SharePoint extensively in conjunction with Copilot. This interoperability is leading to significant changes in application management within Amgen, Generating opportunities to streamline application use through synergies with SharePoint and automation via Microsoft Power Platform.

Zahigian describes Copilot as an enablement tool that helps every individual at the company do more every day than they could otherwise do. “Give me the gift that makes the most difference, which is time,” he says. “For the 20,000 people we’ve enabled with Copilot, if we’re giving them back time, then it’s good for patients.” Zahigian explains that in his industry, every minute counts, and promises Amgen won’t waste this gift of time—the company will use it to advance its mission to serve patients. “Up to now, I haven’t seen anything able to do that, until Copilot.”

Discover more about Amgen on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and YouTube.

“When we had the opportunity with Microsoft [and Copilot], we put our hands up because we thought the hinge moment is here.”

Dr. David Reese, CTO, Amgen

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