# Anthropic targets drug discovery for neglected diseases with Claude Science initiative > Source: > Published: 2026-07-04 15:41:32+00:00 # Anthropic targets drug discovery for neglected diseases with Claude Science initiative The AI lab's new research platform integrates over 60 scientific tools and pairs with an internal drug discovery program focused on conditions big pharma ignores Anthropic just made its most serious move yet into the life sciences, and it chose a deliberately unglamorous entry point. The company unveiled Claude Science on June 30 at a San Francisco event, pitching an AI-powered research workbench built for computational biology and drug discovery, with a specific focus on diseases that the pharmaceutical industry has largely written off as not worth the trouble. ## What Claude Science actually does The platform connects to more than 60 scientific tools and databases, including PubMed and Jupyter, and is capable of running tasks like single-cell RNA sequencing and CRISPR design autonomously. In English: it can handle the kind of data-heavy, multi-step laboratory workflows that would normally require a team of specialists and weeks of manual effort. Early demonstrations showed the platform independently identifying potential treatments for phenylketonuria, a rare metabolic disorder caused by the buildup of an amino acid called phenylalanine. The beta version is currently available to paid Claude users on macOS and Linux. Anthropic is using the rollout to build feedback loops with researchers before pushing deeper into biopharma workflows. Anthropic also announced an internal drug discovery program running alongside the platform. The company is not just selling tools. It is doing the research itself, focused on the same neglected and rare disease categories. ## The Coefficient Bio acquisition fits the pattern In April 2026, Anthropic acquired Coefficient Bio for approximately $400 million. Coefficient Bio brought life sciences expertise that Claude Science clearly needed, and the timeline suggests the acquisition was planned specifically to accelerate this launch. ## What this means for the AI and biopharma landscape The focus on neglected diseases also opens a funding angle that pure commercial players cannot easily access. Grants from government health agencies, partnerships with nonprofits, and collaboration with academic institutions all become more available when the research mission is explicitly non-commercial. For biopharma companies watching this space, the Claude Science launch raises a straightforward question: should you build internal AI research capabilities, or license platforms like this one? For mid-size and smaller firms without the resources to build from scratch, a tool that plugs into existing databases and automates complex workflows has obvious appeal. **Disclosure:** This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our [Editorial Policy](https://cryptobriefing.com/editorial-policy/).