A team from Algorithmiq, IBM, and Cleveland Clinic has won a $2-million Quantum for Bio (Q4Bio) prize for using hybrid quantum-classical computing to simulate how a light-sensitive cancer drug molecule interacts with photons. The work aims to improve photodynamic cancer therapies by modeling how molecular changes affect drug properties. While no team achieved full quantum advantage over classical machines, the competition — backed by Wellcome Leap — focused on building algorithms ready for future, more capable quantum hardware. The $5-million grand prize went unclaimed, but the winning approach could also be applied to antimicrobial drug design.
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