The strategic partnership between Servier and Google Cloud marks a new phase in the Group’s digital transformation. It focuses on harnessing data and artificial intelligence and aims to increase innovation capabilities to serve patient needs.
As part of this five-year partnership, Google will provide Servier with cloud-based storage space and innovative tools that will provide high-performance computing (HPC) and leverage the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate data analysis and understanding.
“Combining scientific innovation with the power of technology will enable significant progress in overall patient engagement. Data and artificial intelligence are opening up tremendous prospects for drug discovery, disease prevention, and improved treatment adherence across the entire pharmaceutical value chain. We were looking for a strategic partner to assist us with these technologies. We have selected Google Cloud for its knowledge of the health sector, its power to innovate, and its commitment to cloud services that are compliant with GDPR* and stringent digital sovereignty requirements.”
Virginie Dominguez, Executive Vice-President Digital, Data and Information Systems at Servier
By reaching out to Google and its partner community, Servier plans to co-create innovative initiatives. These could involve fast-tracking the development of new drugs with AI or performing advanced analyses of real-world data to provide new scientific evidence of drug efficacy and treatment tolerability.
In order to strengthen its skills in digital technologies, Servier has also developed acculturation programs and advanced training courses that are available for all employees worldwide. Google Cloud, in association with these programs, will provide training on data technologies and AI, encouraging teams to transition to a data-driven culture.
What does “cloud” mean?
“Cloud” means both the servers that are accessible on the Internet, and the software and databases that run on those servers. Cloud-based servers are housed in data centers all around the world. The cloud frees users from having to manage physical servers themselves or run software applications on their own equipment/devices.
In 2021, companies spent $191.7 billion on cloud infrastructure (Source: ZDnet).
Speeding up therapeutic innovation and meeting patient needs
In the field of R&D, Google Cloud will facilitate the work of Servier researchers, who use increasingly sophisticated algorithms to accelerate the discovery and delivery of new therapeutic solutions. These algorithms, trained on immense amounts of data, generate models that help expedite identification of molecules of interest and therapeutic targets to increase the probability of success during the clinical phases.
“Innovation is a race, and the increased computing capabilities offered by Google Cloud will allow us to fast-track research to serve patient needs.”
Virginie Dominguez, Executive Vice-President Digital, Data and Information Systems at Servier
Google Cloud technologies will also help Servier optimize its drug production and distribution chain. This is key to strengthening supply continuity in order to avoid shortages of stock, a major issue for patients who must receive their treatments on time.
Google’s enhanced data analytics capabilities will also help better understand patient needs and provide better support for their end-to-end treatment journey, thus addressing the challenges of early disease detection and treatment compliance.
Guaranteeing performance and securing data
Servier handles strategic research data as well as highly sensitive health-related data. The Group needed a reliable partner to help secure data and comply with European regulations. By choosing Google as a strategic partner for its data management, Servier will benefit from cloud infrastructure performance guarantees tailored to the health care sector and compliance with GDPR* requirements.
“Our extensive and ambitious collaboration with Servier is the epitome of our approach with our customers: supporting French organizations’ innovation and growth, with relevant skills and solutions, including local support and a commitment to working closely with the teams, all with the highest security and confidentiality levels.”
Anthony Cirot, Managing Director at Google Cloud France,
Armed with more agile ways of working and enhanced data processing capabilities, Servier is taking another step forward in its digital transformation. By joining forces with a leading technology partner, the Group is demonstrating its desire to position itself at the cutting edge of the innovation race and create therapeutic value for patients even more quickly.
*General Data Protection Regulation (European Union)