Scott Buchholz is the CTO of Deloitte Consulting LLP‘s Government and Public Services practice.
In the life sciences and healthcare industries, the speed of innovation impacts how soon new products, medications and treatments make it to market—and, in turn, how quickly people are able to benefit from those new products, medications and treatments.
Yet by and large, innovation in these two industries can take considerable time because of various factors, such as regulatory procedures and funding cycles, and also limitations in technology. Specifically, classical computing (the form of computing mainly used today, which uses binary logic for computations) is not always the best tool for data-intensive or highly complex research tasks. Compare classical computing to quantum computing, which uses the fundamentals of quantum mechanics for computations. Innovation may speed up with access to tools like this. For instance, a research paper published in Medical Sciences compared classical computing and quantum computing across different factors. One factor was data processing speed. Classical computing relies on “sequential processing, leading to longer computation times for large datasets.” However, quantum computing is able to “process complex datasets exponentially faster due to superposition and parallelism.” In practice, faster data processing via quantum computing can help researchers in these two industries analyze data, uncover patterns and make an impact more quickly.
The emergence of quantum computing stands to accelerate innovation in life sciences and healthcare. Recently, my team and I explored quantum computing use cases in these industries and published our insights in a report. We identified three key applications of quantum computing in life sciences and healthcare: optimization, machine learning and simulations.
The Three Key Applications
On the optimization front, quantum computing could help life sciences and healthcare teams streamline various complex processes, such as production methods and supply chain routing. For instance, researchers at a pharmaceutical company developing a new drug could leverage quantum computing to rapidly evaluate molecular configurations and home in on the most promising ones. Meanwhile, the company’s supply chain team could apply quantum tools to assess different distribution paths and identify the most efficient routes for existing drugs in the company’s portfolio.
As for machine learning, quantum computing could enable life sciences and healthcare teams to quickly comb through various datasets to make more accurate classifications and predictions. For example, physicians at a hospital could use quantum-powered machine learning to cluster patients with a specific health issue by risk. Meanwhile, on the scheduling side, administrators could use quantum-enhanced machine learning models to predict when demand for certain elective procedures will peak during the year.
Finally, the simulation application centers on life sciences and healthcare professionals using quantum computing to more accurately model different biological and business scenarios. At a pharmaceutical company, for instance, researchers could use quantum computing tools to model how a specific compound behaves under different conditions (such as temperature or metabolic environments). The company’s business team could leverage quantum computing to simulate how different pricing strategies might affect market response.
What Life Sciences And Healthcare Leaders Risk If They Don’t Make Their Organizations Quantum-Ready
Life sciences and healthcare leaders shouldn’t expect quantum computing to transform their industries overnight, but they should start preparing for the future. The reality is that quantum computing capabilities exist today, and research is advancing the technology. From my observations, commercially relevant use cases for quantum computers could materialize in the next few years.
But even today, leaders can run quantum-inspired analyses without necessarily having quantum computers. For example, I’ve seen learning use cases where classical systems leveraging quantum computing-inspired techniques can deliver better results than traditional analytical methods. When quantum computing becomes commercially-available, leaders who’ve started with these techniques will have a jump start on the learning and implementation of quantum hardware.
Becoming quantum-ready is a journey, not an event. And that journey should start today. Leaders in these two industries who fail to develop quantum computing strategies for their organizations risk missing out on opportunities to effectively and quickly implement the technology. In turn, they could fall behind their competitors. Specifically, the longer organizations hold off on becoming quantum-ready, the more they could miss out on training their existing workforce and acquiring top talent in the area. The need for quantum talent could play out similarly to the data scientist shortage of the 2010s. In fact, according to the World Economic Forum, the “quantum industry is experiencing an increasing talent gap” across various roles, such as engineering and information technology.
How Life Sciences And Healthcare Leaders Can Make Their Organizations Quantum-Ready
To make their organizations quantum-ready, life sciences and healthcare leaders can take several steps, including the following.
First, they should set aside time to develop a strategic roadmap and plan for their organizations. By doing so, leaders will be able to pinpoint which of their problems quantum computers can help solve—and which of those problems to prioritize. By clarifying the nature of those problems, leaders can understand how prepared their current workforce is skills-wise and determine how to shape their future talent strategy.
Additionally, leaders should secure executive sponsorship for their quantum plans. With executive buy-in, leaders can more effectively and efficiently find the right talent and create the right structure for them to succeed.
Ultimately, for life sciences and healthcare leaders, having a thoughtful, deliberate plan for quantum readiness at their organizations is a safer bet than putting everything off. Quantum computing might seem like a technology that’s being overpromised in the short term. But in the long term, I predict it will be a transformative, mainstay technology in life sciences and healthcare.
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