Qubit Pharmaceuticals, a Paris-based deep-tech company, has announced two simultaneous milestones solidifying its position in advanced quantum algorithm development for molecular simulation. The breakthroughs address both the theoretical speed limits of quantum computing and the achievement of near-term commercial utility in drug discovery.
Theoretical Quantum Speedup Overturns Classical Limits
In collaboration with Sorbonne University and published in Nature Communications, Qubit Pharmaceuticals demonstrated that quantum algorithms can surpass theoretical speed limits when dealing with non-reversible Markov chains. These irreversible processes (such as chemical reactions and protein folding) were previously limited to a quadratic speedup. The new work generalizes the quantum advantage to suggest that up-to-exponential speedups may be possible in certain cases, dramatically advancing the field of statistical physics and its application to complex, real-world simulations.
Practical Utility Path Established for Drug Design
Complementing the theoretical work, the company also published a preprint detailing a collaboration with Q-CTRL that establishes a clear timeline for quantum utility in drug discovery by 2028. Using Q-CTRL’s Fire Opal on IBM Heron hardware, the team demonstrated a practical solution for protein-pocket hydration-site prediction. This task is foundational to modeling how drugs bind to proteins. The work showed that the method could solve real prediction tasks on quantum processors with up to 123 qubits in 25 minutes, matching the precision of classical approaches and providing a technical roadmap for systematic accuracy improvements as qubit count increases.
These dual achievements—a new theoretical framework for irreversible systems and a practical demonstration on commercial hardware—strengthen Qubit Pharmaceuticals’ proprietary simulation platform, positioning the company as a leader in translating fundamental quantum science into commercial advantage in chemistry, biology, and finance.
Read the Nature Communications paper, “Quantum Speedup for Nonreversible Markov Chains”, here. For details on the hydration-site prediction, see the arXiv preprint abstract here.
December 11, 2025
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