Quantum computing explained to most businesses can be confusing. As technology becomes mainstream, many still struggle to understand how technology works and how it can benefit their organization in the future.
The global quantum computing (QC) market is expected to reach US $ 3.7 billion by 2030, despite challenges in maintaining stable qubits. Some of the major success stories of quantum computing include IBM Quantum System One in Europe to help companies and research organizations develop and test applied quantum algorithms.
Google has announced plans to build a commercial quantum computer capable of performing large-scale calculations without error by the end of the decade, while a Chinese startup, Origin Quantum, launched the world’s first operating system. country for a quantum computer.
But according to the results of an Alliance Pistoia survey, nearly half of life science professionals say they only understand QC technology at a beginner’s level. Only less than 10% of professionals admitted to having an in-depth knowledge of QC.
For life science professionals, quantum computing explained to them should be easier to understand compared to other professionals. However, with only 48% at the entry level, the application of the technology in use cases is still a long way off despite the significant noise generated by the potential of QC.
According to Celia Merzbacher, Executive Director of QED-C, explained that, “In the past year alone, hardware and software advances in quantum computing have been made and access to technology through the cloud continues to grow. ‘to improve. As a result, barriers to entry into quantum computing for the life sciences are lower and the number of collaborations is increasing. This recent change is visible in the survey results, where limited access to QC infrastructure as a barrier has decreased compared to a year ago. “
Merzbacher added that QC promises to have a huge impact on many industries, including life sciences. The technology is already seeing clear short-term applications and uses that can help move the industry forward.
Source – The Pistoia Alliance
Obstacles to quantum computing
While the potentials of quantum computing explained to industries may show some positivity, obstacles to launching QC projects also persist. The survey shows that a lack of understanding of QC and the inability to articulate useful uses (35%) were some of the reasons. Next come the lack of skills (29%), lack of access to QC infrastructure (15%) and cost (11%).
At the same time, these challenges are now being addressed by the Pistoia Alliance Quantum Computing community of interest, in partnership with QED-C and QuPharm. Explaining quantum computing in the C suite and raising funds for the development of technology use cases are just a few of the steps taken. The member companies of the Pistoia Alliance in the field of quantum computing that also help drive innovation forward include Cambridge Quantum Computing, Zapata Computing, Molecular Quantum Solutions, QunaSys, Qubit Pharmaceuticals and QC Ware.
Interestingly, 36% of respondents believe that quality control will have an impact on the biopharmaceutical industry over the next five years. With life science specific use cases now emerging from QC companies and consortia, there are clear signs of rapid development and adoption in the near term. For example, Menten AI developed a drug discovery project to build proteins using the D-Wave platform, as part of the Creative Destruction Lab’s Quantum bootcamp.
“Quantum computing is the next computing approach that our organization is looking to use. This will help us remove the constraints in drug discovery and solve the big optimization problems that have required too much time or computing power to progress previously, ”commented a senior director of IT R&D at one of the ten largest pharmaceutical companies.
For John Wise, consultant for Pistoia Alliance, the global collaborative network is uniquely positioned to help the industry develop use cases and reduce the risk of investing in innovative technologies. However, he believes the seismic change he promises to bring won’t be possible if they can’t define the apps that get buy-in from stakeholders and the C-suite.
Indeed, the challenge of any new technology would be to make it understood afterwards C. Although it is still in its infancy for quality control, the alliance should seek to explain quality control to the right people, whom it does. They may be life science professionals or C-Suite executives, in the hope that the technology can be used to its full potential when available.
