Quantum Computing Could Be the Future of Drug Development
New research shows the technology’s potential to help find treatments for diseases that have baffled scientists.
The future of drug development?
Photographer: Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
One of the first and most promising uses scientists envision for the rapidly evolving technology of quantum computing is a new approach to drug development. A quantum computer could, in theory, eliminate much of the trial and error involved in the process to help researchers more quickly zero in on ways to treat aggressive cancers, prevent dementia, kill deadly viruses or even slow aging by sifting through the trillions of molecules that might potentially be synthesized to create pharmaceuticals.
As proof of the technology’s potential, a group of researchers published a paper in Nature Biotechnology earlier this year showing how they could use a small-scale quantum computer designed by IBM and AI to identify a potential cancer drug.