By Mackenzie Tatananni
As investors await a quantum revolution, researchers are already delivering the first tremors.
Look no further than the latest research from International Business Machines, conducted alongside Riken and Cleveland Clinic. Researchers linked IBM quantum systems to two of the world's most powerful supercomputers: Fugaku at Riken and Miyabi-G, operated by the University of Tokyo and the University of Tsukuba.
The end result was a protein complex spanning more than 12,000 atoms. While highly technical, the demonstration has clear applications in drug discovery and medicine, potentially delivering the transformation that quantum enthusiasts have long promised.
"They're the largest known molecules to be simulated thus far with quantum computing," Jerry Chow, IBM's chief technology officer of quantum-centric computing, said ahead of the announcement.
He is describing what IBM and Cleveland Clinic define as "biologically meaningful molecules." The protein simulated in this case is called trypsin, a heavyweight in the world of biology. Without it, the body would struggle to perform one of its most basic functions: breaking down proteins into the building blocks it needs to survive.
A lot of quantum research has centered on this type of work, which has clear applications in drug development. However, investors have been eager for results that prove quantum computers are useful for something other than lab-scale demonstrations.
"The hook here is that we want to go to a world where we have much better therapeutics and things that make all of our lives better," Chow explained. "Fundamentally core to that is understanding how molecules behave, how molecules interact with things such as water. In many ways, this is the largest demonstration to date."
Kenneth Merz, the lead author of the study, agrees. "I always go to the drug discovery angle," Merz said. "We're developing methods to discover drugs to improve human health. But there's also this concept of divide and conquer."
Merz, a staff scientist at Cleveland Clinic, leads a lab dedicated to building computational tools that apply theoretical math to biological research. The latest experiment shows how existing hardware can be paired with quantum machines to solve problems that today's computers cannot handle alone, he said.
"You take a very big problem and break it into small pieces that are able to run on current-generation hardware, and then stitch it together to get the global answer," Merz explained.
The team stopped short of claiming quantum advantage, a milestone many investors are watching closely.
Quantum advantage refers to a system's ability to outperform classical computers at a range of tasks, doing so more efficiently, accurately, and inexpensively. While often viewed as the true tipping point for the technology, focusing solely on this milestone risks overlooking the incremental progress made along the way.
Chow emphasized that any claim of quantum advantage must be validated against established, rigorous testing frameworks. The scientific community isn't there yet, and to date, there is no consensus whether or not true advantage has been achieved.
"What we're seeing is this groundswell of pushing the envelope of what can be done," Chow continued. "We're using these machines and these capabilities to look in these areas where we know classical methods will struggle."
He views the latest study as part of a larger puzzle. "It's not a singular moment in time for quantum advantage," Chow said. "But we're certainly in this phase where we're absolutely using these machines to do real exciting work."
Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 05, 2026 00:01 ET (04:01 GMT)
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