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Anthropic launches Claude Science for drug discovery, takes aim at DeepMind

MIT Technology Review AI8h ago5 min read
Anthropic launches Claude Science for drug discovery, takes aim at DeepMind

Key takeaway

Anthropic has launched Claude Science, a standalone AI product for scientific research that can autonomously conduct work in drug discovery and computational biology. The move represents Anthropic's challenge to Google DeepMind's long-standing leadership in AI for science, and reflects the company's belief that life sciences offers the greatest opportunity to develop AI that serves humanity's long-term well-being.

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3 Key Points

  • What happened

    Anthropic announced Claude Science, a new product designed to support scientific research in areas like computational biology and drug development. The tool is now available to all paid Claude subscribers and can autonomously carry out research tasks when given high-level instructions. Anthropic is also using Claude Science to pursue its own research into drugs for neglected diseases.

  • Why it matters

    Google DeepMind has long dominated AI for science, but Anthropic is now positioning itself as a serious contender in this field. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is a PhD scientist (unlike some competitors), and the company's Opus 4.5 model has been estimated by a Harvard physicist to be about as capable of executing scientific projects as a second-year graduate student. The move signals that Anthropic sees life sciences as central to its mission and could help it secure profitable contracts with pharmaceutical companies as it approaches an IPO later this year.

  • What to watch

    Claude Science is designed to help scientists manage technical bottlenecks—it not only writes code but also helps run code on powerful computer clusters and prioritizes reproducibility so results can be verified. The tool interfaces with genetics, chemistry, and protein biology software, making it particularly useful for drug development research.

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FAQ

Who can use Claude Science and how much does it cost?
Claude Science is available to all paid Claude subscribers. The body does not specify a separate price for the product.
How does Claude Science differ from Anthropic's earlier life sciences tools?
In October, Anthropic released plug-ins that help Claude use scientific software and databases under the heading 'Claude for Life Sciences.' Unlike that earlier release, Claude Science is a full-featured, standalone product ranked alongside Anthropic's other major offerings like Claude Code.
What recent milestone shows scientist confidence in Anthropic?
John Jumper, a researcher who won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work on Google DeepMind's AlphaFold model, announced earlier this month that he is leaving DeepMind for Anthropic.

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