AI and Pharmaceutical Sciences Symposium
On Wednesday, December 10, 2025, the School of Pharmacy hosted the “AI & Pharmaceutical Sciences” symposium, a day-long event dedicated to the challenges, opportunities, and limitations of artificial intelligence in research, education, industry, and professional practice in pharmacy.
The morning began with opening remarks by Philippe Augé, President of the University of Montpellier, and Vincent Lisowski, Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy. David Cassagne, Vice President for Digital Education at the University of Montpellier, then presented the initiatives and strategic priorities being pursued at the University of Montpellier in the field of artificial intelligence.
The opening sessions provided a scientific and critical perspective on AI, notably through a presentation by Dr. Marc-André Delsuc, Emeritus Research Director at the CNRS (University of Strasbourg), before moving on to discuss concrete applications in research and the pharmaceutical industry. Asmaa Mrabti, Project Leader, and Dr. Nicolas Bonnet, Head of Clinical Digital & AI Acceleration at Sanofi, presented the role of AI in augmented clinical trials.
Academic research was also highlighted with presentations by Marianne Richaud, a bioinformatics engineer and PhD student at the IRCM, on the non-invasive detection of cancer using AI, followed by Charles Berger, a bioengineer and PhD student at the IRCM, on radiomics and the prospects for virtual biopsies in ovarian cancer.
The late morning was devoted to the professional applications of AI in pharmacies and within industry-specific tools, featuring presentations by Dr. Vincent L’Huriec, Dr. Xavier Schneider, a digital health expert, as well as Nicolas Guidi and Nicolas Conte, who discussed the integration of AI into Winpharma’s WinPrescription solution.
Student practices and educational challenges were then discussed by Robin Broult, a pharmacy student in Montpellier and a master’s student in Health Engineering, followed by a presentation on AI and teaching at the School of Pharmacy by Maud Harnichard, an educational engineer, and Dr. Maxime Louet (IBMM).
The morning concluded with a discussion of legal issues, featuring presentations by Professor Malo Depince (Faculty of Law and Political Science) and Professor Cécile Le Gal Fontes (Department of Pharmacy), focusing on the legal framework for AI, the AI Act, and its implications for the healthcare sector.
The afternoon featured two roundtable discussions that drew a large audience. The first, focused on ethical issues, brought together Prof. Alain Chavanieu, Dr. Guillaume Monziols, and Dr. Virginie Rage-Andrieu. The second, devoted to educational issues, brought together Dr. Maxime Louet, Maud Harnichard, Dr. Patrice Ravel, Prof. Cyril Breuker (PU-PH), and Robin Broult.
Through a diverse range of perspectives and cross-disciplinary insights, this symposium highlighted the transformations brought about by artificial intelligence in the pharmaceutical sciences, while emphasizing the importance of ongoing dialogue among research, education, professional practice, law, and ethics.
The School of Pharmacy would like to thank all the speakers and participants for the quality of the discussions and their commitment throughout the day, as well as the organizers, Alain Chavanieu and Patrice Ravel.