QClairvoyance Quantum Labs is developing a quantum-assisted drug discovery pipeline to help researchers simulate molecular behaviour and assess promising drug candidates, with the company seeing growing interest in overseas markets.
Developing a new medicine can take years of studying molecules, testing their properties and evaluating their potential to treat diseases safely. Computer simulations help researchers identify candidates for further investigation, but modelling complex molecular behaviour remains a challenge.
QClairvoyance aims to use quantum computing alongside conventional computing to help scientists assess potential drug candidates more effectively and possibly reduce research and development timelines.
“Quantum computing could help researchers model molecular behaviour in greater detail. Through the pipeline we are developing, we aim to support the identification and assessment of promising drug candidates,” said Col Sai Shankar P (retd), founder and director of QClairvoyance Quantum Labs.
Quantum computers use principles of physics that govern matter at atomic and subatomic scales. Researchers are exploring how these systems can be used to calculate molecular properties and support drug discovery.
The potential benefit lies in generating better insights into a molecule before researchers commit to further experiments. Quantum-assisted simulations could help scientists make more informed decisions about which candidates to take forward.
Sai Shankar said the company is working towards two potential benefits: shortening research timelines and improving the identification of drug candidates with better efficacy.
“Bringing a new drug to market can take around ten years and involve billions in investment. For example, our ambition is to help shorten a development timeline of around ten years by one or two years,” he said.
The pipeline is currently under development, and the anticipated time savings and improvements in efficacy would need to be established through testing. Any potential drug would still have to undergo laboratory studies and clinical trials to establish its safety and effectiveness.
“We also expect our pipeline to support improvements in efficacy, although the extent of any improvement would need to be established through testing and clinical validation,” Sai Shankar said.
The company sees drug discovery as a longer-term product opportunity as quantum computers become more capable of supporting practical applications. Its focus is on assisting researchers in the early stages of identifying and evaluating potential medicines.
According to Sai Shankar, the company is attracting international interest in its quantum-assisted drug discovery work. He attributed this partly to differences in the focus of pharmaceutical industries across markets.
“In my view, India’s pharmaceutical industry is more focused on manufacturing than on discovering new drugs. Much of the drug discovery activity takes place in Europe and the United States, where many Indian researchers also work,” he said.
He said this difference was influencing the company's assessment of potential markets for its pipeline.
“Once a drug has been developed, Indian companies often play a role in manufacturing it at scale. That difference in focus is why we currently see a stronger market for our quantum-assisted drug discovery work overseas,” he added.
QClairvoyance operates across three areas: quantum cybersecurity, quantum education and quantum-assisted drug discovery.
Its cybersecurity portfolio includes Qdrishti, an enterprise cryptographic inventory tool; QuantShield, a plug-and-play post-quantum cybersecurity product; and a quantum-secure zero-trust network access (ZTNA) solution.
The company is also focusing on the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector, where protecting customer information and transactions is a priority.
“We are developing a solution for global use, and we have already implemented it in a few major financial institutions in India. Quantum cybersecurity is our first major product area,” Sai Shankar said.
He said financial institutions were among the early adopters of emerging technologies because of the need to protect sensitive information and transactions.
A sufficiently powerful quantum computer could threaten some of the encryption methods used today to protect financial records, account details and transactions. This has prompted financial institutions to prepare their IT infrastructure for the transition to quantum-safe security, he said.
The company is also planning to raise funds from its marquee investors, including Zerodha and Zoho, Sai Shankar said, without disclosing the proposed fundraising amount.
