BigHat Biosciences CEO Peyton Greenside challenged parts of the AI drug-development narrative, arguing that speed demos obscure the downstream experimental work needed to make medicines. Greenside told STAT+ that while her company can design proteins quickly, drug development still depends on extensive testing and validation. BigHat, founded in 2019, has completed a collaboration with Johnson & Johnson and maintains partnerships with Merck, Amgen, AbbVie and Lilly. The company uses machine-learning to support antibody therapy design, with business execution framed around completed “projects” rather than concept showcases. For biotech leaders weighing AI investments, Greenside’s remarks emphasize the operational bottleneck after computational design—moving from candidate generation to the wet-lab and translational steps that determine clinical feasibility.