Quantum Computing Breakthrough in Drug Development: IonQ, AstraZeneca, AWS, and NVIDIA Collaborate

IonQ has collaborated with AstraZeneca, AWS, and NVIDIA to accelerate drug development using quantum computing. The new workflow is 20 times faster than previous demonstrations, significantly enhancing pharmaceutical R&D efficiency. The collaboration focuses on optimizing the Suzuki-Miyaura reaction, a key step in synthesizing small molecule drugs. Scheduled to be featured at the ISC High Performance conference, the project highlights IonQ's advancements in scalable quantum systems and its potential to bring revolutionary capabilities to the industry.

IonQ, a leading commercial quantum computing and networking company, has collaborated with AstraZeneca, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and NVIDIA to develop a quantum-accelerated drug discovery workflow. This groundbreaking effort, which aims to optimize the Suzuki-Miyaura reaction, a critical step in synthesizing small molecule drugs, has demonstrated a significant improvement in efficiency. The new workflow is 20 times faster than previous demonstrations, showcasing the potential of quantum computing to revolutionize pharmaceutical research and development (R&D).

The collaboration, which will be featured at the ISC High Performance conference in Hamburg, Germany, from June 10-13, 2025, integrates IonQ's Forte quantum processor with NVIDIA's CUDA-Q platform and AWS infrastructure. This hybrid system achieved a remarkable 20-fold improvement in time-to-solution for the Suzuki-Miyaura reaction, a widely used method in drug development. The results highlight the scalability of IonQ's quantum systems and their practical potential in pharmaceutical R&D.

Niccolo de Masi, CEO of IonQ, stated, "This demonstration with AstraZeneca represents a meaningful step toward practical quantum computing applications in chemistry and materials science and showcases how IonQ’s enterprise-grade quantum computers are uniquely suited to meet the challenge." The ability to model catalytic reactions with speed and accuracy isn't just a scientific achievement; it's a preview of how hybrid computing with quantum acceleration will provide revolutionary capabilities to the industry.

Anders Broo, Executive Director of Pharmaceutical Science, R&D, AstraZeneca, expressed his enthusiasm for the collaboration, saying, "This collaboration marks an important step towards accurately modeling activation barriers for catalyzed reactions relevant to route optimizing in drug development. We look forward to further advancements in the area."

Eric Kessler, GM of Amazon Braket at AWS, underscored the significance of the partnership, noting, "Future quantum computers are not going to replace traditional compute, but instead accelerate specific, computationally intensive processing steps as part of HPC processing pipelines. By combining quantum computers on Amazon Braket with scalable GPU resources on AWS, we're supporting AstraZeneca to envision how future quantum computers will be used to accelerate research in computational chemistry."

Tim Costa, Senior Director of Quantum and CUDA-X at NVIDIA, added, "Bringing together state-of-the-art quantum and GPU computing in hybrid workflows is the path to realizing quantum’s potential. This work represents a meaningful step towards applying quantum accelerated supercomputing to important use cases."

The results of this collaboration not only demonstrate the practical application of quantum computing in drug development but also pave the way for future advancements in computational chemistry and other scientific fields. By reducing the computational burden of early-stage drug discovery, this technology has the potential to significantly reduce the time and cost associated with developing new pharmaceuticals.

References:
[1] IonQ. (2025). IonQ Speeds Quantum-Accelerated Drug Development Application with AstraZeneca, AWS, and NVIDIA. Retrieved from https://ionq.com/news/ionq-speeds-quantum-accelerated-drug-development-application-with
[2] The Quantum Insider. (2025). IonQ Speeds Quantum-Accelerated Drug Development Application in Partnership with AstraZeneca, AWS, and NVIDIA. Retrieved from https://thequantuminsider.com/2025/06/09/ionq-speeds-quantum-accelerated-drug-development-application-in-partnership-with-astrazeneca-aws-and-nvidia/