Dr. Christian Weedbrook reports

XANADU AND UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA PARTNER TO ACCELERATE PHARMACEUTICAL DISCOVERIES WITH QUANTUM COMPUTING

Xanadu Quantum Technologies Ltd. and the University of Alberta have formed a strategic research partnership to pioneer novel quantum algorithms for cancer treatment. This partnership, led by the Xanadu algorithms team and Prof. Alex Brown from the University of Alberta, aims to develop a quantum computing framework that can accelerate the design of next-generation photosensitizers used in photodynamic therapy, a powerful, non-invasive therapeutic cancer treatment.

Photodynamic cancer therapy uses light-activated compounds, called photosensitizers, to selectively destroy tumour cells, while avoiding the side effects of traditional cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy. However, discovering new and more effective photosensitizers can be difficult, as it requires either slow and costly experiments or classical simulations that do not take into account crucial interactions determining their effectiveness.

Xanadu has recently released results pioneering the use of quantum computers to simulate important light-matter interactions in photosensitizers, which are critical for determining key properties that are difficult to predict using classical computational approaches. These include their sensitivity to specific wavelengths and their efficiency in triggering cancer cell death. Professor Brown has published highly influential work on benchmarking computational simulations of photosensitizer systems. By combining their expertise, Xanadu and Prof. Brown aim to further explore how quantum computing can overcome classical computational challenges in photodynamic drug discovery.

"Current methodologies for developing effective photosensitizers are hampered by a variety of hurdles. By leveraging early fault-tolerant quantum computers to model critical light-matter interactions within photosensitizers, we are positioning quantum computing as a highly competitive method for accelerating photodynamic drug discovery," said Dr. Christian Weedbrook, founder and chief executive officer of Xanadu.

"Photosensitizers are challenging systems because their performance depends on excited-state processes that are difficult to capture accurately with standard computational methods. By combining Xanadu's quantum algorithm expertise with our experience in modelling photodynamic therapy systems, we're excited to explore how fault-tolerant quantum computing could provide new tools for understanding and designing more effective light-activated cancer treatments," said Prof. Alex Brown, professor and chair of the Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta.

This partnership aims to strengthen Xanadu's quantum-based workflow for drug design, expanding the framework to tackle increasingly sophisticated challenges in photosensitizer development. Prof. Brown's contributions will be vital in identifying important mechanisms that determine therapeutic effectiveness. Together, Xanadu and University of Alberta will use quantum computing to push the boundaries of drug development and simulations for use in the pharmaceutical industry.

About Xanadu Quantum Technologies Ltd.

Founded in 2016, Xanadu is a Canadian photonic quantum computing company with the mission to build quantum computers that are useful and available to people everywhere. Xanadu is building fault-tolerant quantum computers using light, with systems designed to compute at room temperature. Backed by more than $600-million (U.S.) in financing, Xanadu develops both hardware and software, including PennyLane, its open-source quantum computing platform. Xanadu is the first pure-play photonic quantum computing company to list on public markets (Nasdaq/Toronto Stock Exchange: XNDU) and is recognized globally for its breakthroughs in scalable quantum technologies.

About University of Alberta

The University of Alberta exists to inspire and ignite the human spirit in pursuit of a better tomorrow. Its work is rooted in a commitment to creating a university community where everyone feels valued, barriers to success are removed, and thriving connections are fostered while honouring indigenous identities, languages, cultures and world views. As one of the world's top 100 teaching and research universities, the U of A ranks among the Top 4 in Canada, providing a $19.4-billion annual economic impact in Alberta alone. The U of A seeks to challenge, to change and to always be leading with purpose.

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