£100 million boost to quantum hubs to aid life sciences innovations
The UK Government has recently allocated substantial funding of over £100 million to support five new quantum research hubs across the UK.
At this point, you may be querying the direct relevance to the pharmaceutical and life sciences sector. However, the exponentially faster processing speeds of quantum computers compared to classical computers bring new opportunities. This increased processing speed alters what is currently possible in a given timeframe, and the Government has named a number of life sciences targets in their press release for these quantum research hubs, a few of which we summarise below:
Medical Scanners
A promising area for quantum technology lies in medical imaging. Quantum-enhanced medical scanners could significantly improve diagnostic accuracy and speed. More processing powers means MRI and CT scans that can provide clearer, more detailed images, allowing doctors to detect diseases at an earlier stage.
Healthcare Interventions
Quantum innovations hold the potential to enhance and inform surgical interventions. Surgeons could benefit from improved precision and visualisation during procedures.
Blood Tests
Quantum-enhanced blood tests could enable the faster diagnosis of diseases and cancer at reduced cost. By increasing the turnaround of blood tests and reducing the cost per test, diseases may be diagnosed earlier, increasing the likelihood of positive outcomes.
The examples given in the Government's press release are directed at patients at the point of treatment. However, there are opportunities throughout the pharma and life sciences supply chain - for example, quantum computers are far better suited to determine protein structures based on their sequences and folding.
Looking ahead, the potential for transformative changes exists, but the extent and nature of these changes remain to be seen. The coming years will undoubtedly provide valuable insights into how quantum computing and this investment influence the sector.