Artificial Intelligence in the Pharmaceutical Industry: A Comprehensive Review

Artificial intelligence (AI) is catalyzing a paradigm shift in the pharmaceutical industry, enabling faster, cheaper, and more targeted drug discovery and development. Through machine learning (ML), deep learning (DL), natural language processing (NLP), and generative modeling, AI can analyze high-dimensional, multi-source biomedical data to identify novel therapeutic candidates, optimize drug formulation, streamline clinical trials, and provide real-time post-market safety monitoring. This review synthesizes recent advancements (2020–2025) in AI applications across the pharmaceutical pipeline, examines emerging case studies, addresses regulatory and ethical considerations, and discusses future directions such as quantum computing and federated learning. Our objective is to provide a comprehensive and critical reference for researchers, clinicians, and regulatory professionals invested in AI-enabled pharmaceutical innovation.