Boehringer Ingelheim and Microsoft have launched a research collaboration to develop AI-powered “digital patient twins” to simulate disease progression and treatment response for clinical trial design. The teams want to test whether these models can serve as synthetic or hybrid control groups, potentially reducing the number of patients needed in controls. Boehringer said the work is exploratory but is intended to generate evidence that the simulated disease trajectories can predict relevant outcomes when grounded in clinical and other data. A Boehringer spokesperson told BioXconomy that any future use, including placebo-reduction concepts, would depend on scientific validation and applicable regulatory approvals. The collaboration is framed as part of a broader wave of trial-focused AI partnerships, following related industry moves such as AstraZeneca’s work with Oracle and Sanofi’s partnership with Formation Bio to accelerate recruitment in multiple sclerosis studies. The initiative also comes after HHS launched SURPASS, which includes digital patient twins for specific trial design and feasibility tasks.