Assisting the Drug Discovery Process with a Universal Programmable Photonic Quantum Processor
A universal programmable photonic quantum processor—capable of running Gaussian boson sampling (GBS)—is introduced as a powerful tool for drug discovery computations. GBS is employed to tackle both molecular docking and RNA folding predictions, two central tasks in modern pharmaceutical research. Results indicate that this quantum processor offers a valuable heuristic for exploring large molecular conformations and complex folding landscapes. Additional recent demonstrations in topological data analysis highlight the platform’s flexibility for diverse computational tasks. These findings underscore the potential of photonic quantum computing to accelerate critical drug design calculations, offering a scalable and programmable pathway for future innovations in life sciences and quantum technologies.