The Future of Drug Discovery Is Getting Personal
The Future of Drug Discovery Is Getting Personal — and I Just Got a Preview (with ChatGPT Health)
Last week, I did something I didn't expect to do: I handed my medical records and Apple Health data to ChatGPT's new Health app.
As the head of Data and AI Strategy at Digitas Health, I've seen plenty of AI demos that promise "personalized health insights." Most are polished. Few are actually personal. I went in expecting a summary and generic recommendations.
I was wrong.
What surprised me wasn't a single insight—it was the experience of connection. In real time, the app cross-referenced my bloodwork with my training load (I'm prepping for my next marathon) then layered in my goal to shift back toward a more plant-based diet. Instead of simply reflecting my results back at me, it pointed to specific biomarkers to monitor as that change happens and explained why they mattered. It felt less like a report and more like a conversation with context.
That distinction matters.
Because once the data is connected, the next step is action. The app offered to generate a meal plan aligned to my goals. It proposed a set of questions and talking points to bring to my clinician. It surfaced potential treatment considerations and even flagged coverage angles I wouldn't have thought to ask about.
This is what personalization looks like when AI has the full picture—not just a single dataset, not just a symptom checker, not just a one-off lab value. Context is the multiplier.
For pharmaceutical marketing, the implications are significant.
For decades, the industry has built awareness campaigns, educational content, and adherence journeys designed to help patients connect the dots between symptoms, diagnoses, and treatment options. But what happens when an AI agent can connect those dots instantly, using a patient's complete health profile? What happens when patients arrive at appointments not with vague questions, but with AI-generated prompts about specific alternatives, trade-offs, and next steps?
My own experience mostly confirmed what I already knew about my health. But for millions of patients who have never questioned their treatment plan—or never realized there were options—this kind of guided, contextual experience could be transformative. When people feel connected to their data, they show up differently: more informed, more confident, and better prepared for productive conversations with care teams.
At Digitas Health, our work is about helping brands meet patients in meaningful moments. Last week, sitting with my labs, my training goals, my nutrition goals—and an AI agent that could connect it all—health happened for me.
And it feels like the beginning of what's next.