Pharma’s digital Rx: Quantum computing in drug research and development

"Quantum computing’s ability to simulate larger, more complex molecules could be game changing. Pharmaceutical companies should reflect on their strategic stance to this promising new technology now.

The development of molecular formulations that become drugs to treat or cure diseases is at the heart of the pharmaceutical industry. Development is so fundamental that pharma spends a full 15 percent of its sales on R&D—a huge sum that accounts for more than 20 percent of total R&D spending across all industries in the global economy. This investment goes hand in hand with innovation: constantly seeking to improve the R&D process, pharma companies have for decades been early adopters of computational chemistry’s digital tools, such as molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and density functional theory (DFT). More recently, pharma R&D has taken advantage of artificial intelligence (AI). The next digital frontier is quantum computing (QC).

In a recent article, we analyzed the impact of QC on the chemical industry, which, similarly to pharma, relies on the development and manufacture of molecules, and concluded that it will be one of the first industries to benefit. In this article, we explain the profound impact that QC could have on the pharma industry and present use cases for its application. We also provide a set of strategic questions to get clarity on the path forward for industry players..." Lire la suite