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Ohio Welcomes World’s First Quantum Computer Dedicated to Healthcare Research
For years, technology observers could not be blamed for attaching a perpetual delivery date to quantum computing. Ideated in the 1980s and realized conceptually in the 1990s, quantum computing harnesses the principles of quantum theory to allow subatomic particles to exist in more than one state (i.e., 0 and 1) at the same time. Long awaited to solve intractable challenges across many market sectors, quantum computing holds particular promise in healthcare – drug discovery, genomics, and public health.
In healthcare, the development timeline for new therapies is more than a slide in an investor presentation, and it also represents the time patients are without life-saving medicine. From discovery to regulatory approval, the average time it takes to deliver a new drug is over 10 years. To reduce this critical timeline, researchers and clinicians look forward to accessing computing power capable of delivering rapid insights across complex and diverse data sets. Last week in Cleveland, Ohio, the anticipation ended, and the opportunity began.
On March 20, Cleveland Clinic CEO Dr. Tomislav Mihaljevic welcomed executive leadership from IBM, the National Institutes of Health, and the State of Ohio to the unveiling of IBM’s Quantum System One, the first quantum computer dedicated to healthcare research. The installation of the Quantum System One at Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Center is part of a 10-year Discovery Accelerator Partnership intended to quicken the pace of biomedical research.
More broadly, this pioneering research will take place within the Cleveland Innovation District, a multi-institutional initiative led by JobsOhio, the State of Ohio, Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, Case Western Reserve University, and Cleveland State University. Launched in 2021 as a catalyst for life science research and STEM graduates, the economic impact is expected to reach over $3 billion. Parallel Innovation District efforts are underway in Columbus and Cincinnati as part of JobsOhio’s $300M unprecedented commitment to empowering the next generation of talent and research statewide.
This investment from Cleveland Clinic and IBM is exactly the type of institution-led collaboration with industry that the DeWine Administration and JobsOhio leadership expected when they together made the state’s single largest one-time investment in innovation during the heart of the pandemic. Pairing IBM’s technology and engineering prowess with Cleveland Clinic’s clinical and research expertise has the potential to raise the state’s life science ceiling exponentially:
- Technology infrastructure – Cleveland and Ohio’s research enterprise (nearly $1 billion in annual NIH research) just added a cutting-edge tool to support new frontiers of medicine.
- Industry – Pharmaceutical, biotech, genomics, and big data companies from across the globe will have interest in working alongside Cleveland Clinic and the Quantum System One.
- Workforce – Cleveland Clinic and IBM intend to train and educate Ohioans in quantum computing, allowing the state to better compete in this must-win sector.
As is always the case with emerging technology, we will not know where quantum computing will lead us, but thanks to strong state, institutional, and sector leadership, we are primed to capture its future.
Please contact me to learn about and join our efforts in Healthcare Innovation in Ohio.
Tyler Allchin
Managing Director or Healthcare
JobsOhio