A new joint report from Accenture and Wharton reveals that AI agents—digital and physical bots operating with minimal oversight—could transform the biopharma industry by impacting up to 55% of workforce hours. Mapping 300 tasks across 90 roles, the study identifies 50 agent types that, if scaled, could unlock $180–$240 billion annually in the U.S. market alone.
Unlike traditional RPA tools, AI agents now leverage natural language understanding, making them adaptable and capable of collaborative decision-making. Kailash Swarna, Managing Director at Accenture, notes this marks a shift from rigid automation to dynamic, human-like interaction—enabling true agentic autonomy.
The report breaks down agent categories: utility agents (task executors), orchestrator agents (task managers), and super agents (specialists). These agents streamline data retrieval, scale discovery through multi-pattern recognition, and enable lab robots to self-adjust protocols—cutting costs and boosting precision.
Humans remain vital in an “orchestrated” oversight role, managing edge cases and ensuring ethical, strategic decisions. The study promotes a “Human+” model, encouraging task rebalancing and workforce reskilling.
Accenture and Wharton envision a future where software agents and people collaborate seamlessly, shaping a resilient, innovative biopharma ecosystem.