THE United Nations recently declared 2025 the International Year of Quantum Science, yet many Malaysian boardrooms remain unengaged with its revolutionary potential. By 2035, quantum technology is projected to unlock up to US$500 billion in value for the global life sciences industry. For Malaysia, this is not just a scientific milestone but a critical pivot point and next frontier for national competitiveness and security.
IBM has boldly predicted that 2026 will serve as the inflection point for witnessing true "quantum advantage". This means quantum platforms will soon solve highly complex, real-world problems far more efficiently than our most powerful classical supercomputers ever could. We are standing at the precipice of a technological shift that will dramatically reshape modern medicine, agriculture, and digital security.
To understand this shift, we must demystify the technology and move beyond sci-fi imagery. While traditional computers use bits representing strictly zero or one, quantum computers use "qubits" that exist in multiple states to process millions of possibilities simultaneously. Unfortunately, these fundamental qubits are incredibly fragile and highly error-prone. Even minor temperature variations or slight physical vibrations can cause a total loss of their delicate quantum coherence. Consequently, the current machines are classified as "noisy intermediate-scale quantum" (NISQ) devices because they inevitably introduce errors into their operations.
Because of this instability, a full-scale, flawlessly error-corrected quantum computer is still years away from reality. Yet, we absolutely do not need to wait for hardware perfection to reap the immediate benefits. The future of biotechnology lies in hybrid quantum-classical systems. Business opportunities lie in these hybrid systems that combine classical reliability with quantum speed.
In these clever hybrid setups, traditional computers handle the error mitigation and process data, while the quantum hardware tackles only the heaviest mathematical calculations. These hybrid systems act as a vital bridge to achieving early quantum advantage. These setups act as a turbocharger for existing data centres, solving complex biological puzzles in minutes that would otherwise take centuries. For the biotechnology sector, these hybrid systems are already delivering groundbreaking, real-world results.
We are seeing concrete applications of this technology rapidly moving out of the labs and into applied biology. For example, researchers recently utilised IBM quantum hardware to successfully encode and analyse the entire genome of the hepatitis D virus. Under the international Quantum for Bio challenge, they successfully simulated complex protein structures containing over 12,000 atoms, marking the largest biologically meaningful molecular simulation ever achieved.
Quantum platforms can simulate molecular interactions at an atomic level with near-perfect accuracy, identifying promising candidates before costly physical trials. This tackles immense molecular simulation and drug-discovery problems. Global players like Moderna are using these quantum shortcuts to simulate complex mRNA structures, showing that quantum computing is actively solving complex biological mysteries today.
Quantum systems are projected to radically accelerate molecular simulation, drug design, and intricate protein folding. We could rapidly discover life-saving treatments by perfectly simulating how novel drugs interact with human biology. Imagine the profound implications this holds for Malaysia's healthcare and bioeconomy sectors, such as listed giants Duopharma Biotech and Pharmaniaga.
Modern biological research relies heavily on massive "omics" studies, such as genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics. Currently, analysing these enormous datasets requires immense classical computing time. Quantum computing could analyse these complex biological networks in a mere fraction of the time.
Our nation’s rich biodiversity is a massive, untapped data bank waiting for quantum analysis. We could deploy quantum algorithms to decode the genetic blueprints of tropical flora, like mangosteen or pitcher plants. This could rapidly uncover novel bioactive compounds and commercial enzymes for our local nutraceutical industries. This capability transforms our natural resources into sophisticated, patentable intellectual property for the food and cosmetic industries. It perfectly illustrates the ultimate goal: moving complex science out of the laboratories and directly onto our kitchen tables.
Despite these incredible promises, there is a looming global threat known as the "quantum divide". Capital-intensive quantum technologies are currently concentrating strictly in the hands of a few wealthy nations and massive pharmaceutical companies. Well-funded institutions in the United States, Europe, and China are aggressively dominating this early space.
These wealthy institutions will inevitably secure massive first-mover advantages in biological research. They will be the very first to successfully identify structurally difficult drug targets. Consequently, early quantum-enabled drug discoveries will focus almost entirely on diseases that offer the highest financial returns.
This poses a direct and critical risk to regions like Southeast Asia. Neglected tropical diseases and antimicrobial resistance in low-income settings will likely be entirely bypassed by these early quantum biological advancements. If Malaysia does not act proactively, our specific regional healthcare needs will be left behind in the dark. To combat this, Malaysia must participate in global UNESCO dialogues to secure equitable access to shared quantum resources and capacity building.
Beyond equitable healthcare, we must also confront the urgent national security risks this technology introduces. Quantum computers possess the theoretical power to effortlessly crack our current standard encryption methods. Resource estimates required to break RSA-2048 encryption have plummeted from 20 million physical qubits to potentially fewer than 100,000. Our primary challenge is ensuring quantum advantage arrives in a form that is securely, responsibly, and equitably utilised for our people.
Malicious actors are deploying a dangerous "harvest now, decrypt later" strategy. They quietly intercept and store our sensitive, encrypted data today, waiting patiently for powerful quantum computers to decrypt it tomorrow. Genomic and health data are uniquely exposed to this permanent threat because your genetic information never expires.
A fully fault-tolerant quantum computer, capable of physically correcting its own errors, might be realised as soon as 2030. Health and corporate data collected today will be just as sensitive when decrypted in the 2030s. Therefore, Malaysian boardrooms and biological databases must urgently develop timelines to adopt new post-quantum cryptographic standards. We must secure our permanent digital assets before the quantum lockpicks are fully built.
The impact also extends to our local semiconductor and tech players, such as Inari Amertron and Dagang NeXchange (DNeX). As the global supply chain shifts toward quantum-ready components, our local manufacturing ecosystem must quickly adapt to these new hardware standards. Staying relevant in the global tech value chain requires early corporate literacy in quantum architectures.
How can Malaysia advance in this critical field under our current strict research budget constraints? Building physical quantum computers is astronomically expensive and currently unnecessary for now. Instead, Malaysian businesses and scientists should leverage "Quantum-as-a-Service" (QaaS) through cloud providers to pilot advanced algorithms with affordable capital expenditure.
This software-first approach allows us to surgically direct our limited R&D funding toward niche applications relevant to our region, ensuring our resources solve local problems. We must also drastically prioritise workforce development by establishing a well-funded National Centre of Quantum Technology to champion quantum literacy. National initiatives must pivot to introduce quantum literacy to our researchers, students, and IT professionals. Preparing our workers for a deep tech-based future must remain a top national priority.
We often fear what we do not understand, much like the initial public ignorance and hesitation towards genetically modified foods. Therefore, demystifying quantum technology for the general public is absolutely crucial for its widespread acceptance. Public outreach programmes and continuous education are vital to inspiring Malaysia's next generation of quantum biologists. Proactive governance and continuous public education are vital to ensuring scientific opportunities translate into tangible societal benefits.
The C-suite and policymakers must stop viewing quantum technology as a distant future problem. The transition from the laboratory to the marketplace is accelerating exponentially faster than most experts initially predicted. Malaysia cannot afford to be a mere passive consumer of this impending technological revolution. Biotechnology already rightfully occupies a central role in our national security and economic competitiveness. Blending our rich biotechnology sector with quantum computing is the definitive future of scientific innovation. The ultimate question for Malaysian business leaders is no longer if they will adopt quantum technology but how they will survive without it.
Dr Hoe-Han Goh is an associate professor at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, leading the Plant Functional Genomics Research Group at the Institute of Systems Biology.