Quantum Team Scales to 12,635-Atom Protein Simulation Breakthrough
A team of researchers from Cleveland Clinic, RIKEN and IBM has made significant progress in simulating complex biological molecules using quantum computers.
The team was named a finalist for the 2026 ACM Gordon Bell Prize for simulating the largest biologically meaningful molecules ever modeled with quantum computers. They achieved this by combining quantum and classical methods in a framework known as quantum-centric supercomputing.
The researchers used IBM Quantum Heron processors, along with two of the world's most powerful supercomputers, Fugaku at RIKEN and Miyabi-G operated by the University of Tokyo and University of Tsukuba. They were able to run nearly 6,000 quantum operations using up to 94 qubits, which was essential for the computation's accuracy and success.
The team's innovative approach and the rapid maturation of quantum computing have enabled them to make significant breakthroughs in simulating complex biological molecules. Their work has potential applications in drug discovery and could help researchers better predict how medicines interact with protein targets.