Fundamentally Novartis is a data company
and I think Data Science is going to allow us
to unlock even more insights across every
element of our business
whether it's an R&D,
whether it's in manufacturing,
whether it's in sales and marketing
or whether it's from getting our medicines
to more patients.
I'm incredibly excited about the power
of these technologies to enable us
to do even more as a company.
Well, I think you can see from the event
and the buzz generated as well,
how much we are becoming
a data company and really
having Data Science at the core.
I think Novartis is in an ideal position
to take the lead in the application
of Data Science and machine learning
in life sciences and healthcare.
I think there are many, many factors;
there are many structural factors
that mean that Novartis is well position.
But I actually think the most important
thing of all is having the drive
and the commitment … 
the energy to do so.
I think Vas is clearly leading the charge on this. 
Data science is not a task
that you just go give to someone to do,
leave at their doorstep and walk away.
It's a real integrative process
that involves subject matter expertise,
non-Data Science people who understand
the field of what they're working on
to complement with the Data Science folks
so that they can come to solutions.
For communities around the world data
on digital is really key to be able to access
healthcare and to get better quality of healthcare.
It's a true connector between the communities,
the patients and their families,
the providers and the health system.
There were very interesting three-minute pitches.
They move from molecules
to artificial intelligence or to assays.
So, it was very interesting
to see other colleagues like us
from the smaller CPOs.
I've seen Vas and the thrust
that he's putting on digital and data
and when he said,
“We are a data company,
a Data Science company”,
that was … that was pretty cool!
There are many people
who had done various work
around the different products
and various different models set
around using all different types of
machine-learning techniques so,
we got to know all this
in a short span of time,
which is very good.
It's very nice to see all the teams
joining together and see what everybody
is working on in Novartis.
It's … I mean, so much stuff going on.
I wasn't aware that so much
was going on so that
was really insightful again.
Data Science and AI are probably
the two most important fields,
not just in the biopharma industry
but in all of the industries right now.
It's really changing the way we think
about business and how we actually
add value to our customers
and other stakeholders.
So, I couldn't be more excited
to be here at this conference. 
If you look across the value chain,
from early discovery NIBR,
to all the way to manufacturing
and supply chain, Novartis TechOps
and all of that,
we are essentially already
have become a data-driven company.
We are generating humongous amount
of data across this value chain
and it’s to us to now start
getting used to use that data,
use that data to benefit our associates
who are on the front line,
either doing drug discovery 
or drug development
or commercial launch
or manufacturing and supply chain.
