Anthropic, the US artificial intelligence company behind the Claude chatbot, has appointed Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan to its board of directors, bringing the seven-member board pharmaceutical expertise as the firm deepens its focus on healthcare applications. The move comes amid reports of a potential Anthropic IPO later this year, and follows a separate board appointment in February when former Microsoft and General Motors executive Chris Liddell also joined. Anthropic already partners with pharma and biotech firms including Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Genmab to accelerate drug development, and has expanded Claude's capabilities to support clinical trials and regulatory processes.