The Wellcome Sanger Institute has partnered with Quantinuum, the world’s largest quantum computing company led by President and CEO Rajeeb Hazra, to address computational bottlenecks in genomics as part of the Wellcome Leap Quantum for Bio (Q4Bio) challenge. This collaboration, involving a consortium led by the University of Oxford with support from the Universities of Cambridge, Melbourne, and Kyiv Academic University, aims to encode and process an entire genome – specifically the bacteriophage PhiX174 – using a quantum computer within the next year. Quantinuum’s System H2 currently holds the global record for Quantum Volume, benchmarked at 8,388,608 as of May 2025, and will provide the hardware and expertise for this endeavor, potentially demonstrating quantum computing’s readiness for real-world genomic applications and exceeding the capabilities of current classical computers.
The Genome’s Quantum Future
The Wellcome Leap Quantum for Bio (Q4Bio) challenge is currently funding research to develop quantum algorithms designed to overcome existing computational bottlenecks and assess the limits of classical computational genetics over the next 3 to 5 years. A consortium led by the University of Oxford, with support from partners including the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the Universities of Cambridge, Melbourne, and Kyiv Academic University, is taking a leading role in this initiative, aiming to perform genomic processing tasks for complex and variable genomes beyond the capabilities of current classical computers.
Earlier this year, the Wellcome Sanger Institute selected Quantinuum as a technology partner in their bid to succeed in the Q4Bio challenge, leveraging Quantinuum’s System H2, which currently holds the global record for Quantum Volume, benchmarked at 8,388,608 as of May 2025, and demonstrating leading qubit fidelity. This collaboration allows the scientific research team to utilise Quantinuum’s full-stack approach, encompassing hardware, software, and expertise in quantum algorithm development.
The consortium has announced a central mission for the coming year: to encode and process an entire genome using a quantum computer, a potential world-first that would provide evidence for the readiness of quantum computing for real-world applications. Their chosen genome is the bacteriophage PhiX174, significant as its sequencing earned Fred Sanger his second Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1980. Successfully encoding this genome quantum mechanically would represent a significant milestone for both genomics and quantum computing, potentially paving the way for advancements in the emerging field of Quantum Pangenomics.
Rajeeb Hazra, President and CEO of Quantinuum, stated that the company is honoured to partner in tackling complex challenges in genomics, bringing the world’s highest-performing quantum computers to the collaboration and opening new possibilities for health and medical science. Ilyas Khan, Founder and Chief Product Officer of Quantinuum, added that quantum computational biology has long been an inspiration for the company, as it has the potential to transform global health and empower people to lead longer, healthier lives.
Advancing Beyond Classical Limits
The Wellcome Leap Quantum for Bio (Q4Bio) challenge is pioneering this new frontier, funding research to develop quantum algorithms that can overcome current computational bottlenecks and test the classical boundaries of computational genetics in the next 3-5 years. A consortium led by the University of Oxford, supported by partners including the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the Universities of Cambridge, Melbourne, and Kyiv Academic University, is taking a leading role in this initiative.
This endeavour seeks to perform genomic processing tasks for complex and variable genomes, exceeding the capabilities of current classical computers, and potentially establishing new benchmarks in the field of Quantum Pangenomics. The consortium’s work builds upon advancements made over the past quarter-century, where genomic sequencing that previously took 13 years and $2.7 billion can now be completed in under 12 minutes for a few hundred dollars.
The Q4Bio Challenge and Key Partnerships
At the heart of this endeavor, the consortium has announced a bold central mission for the coming year: to encode and process an entire genome using a quantum computer. This achievement would be a potential world-first and provide evidence for quantum computing’s readiness for real-world use cases.
Their chosen genome, the bacteriophage PhiX174, carries symbolic weight as its sequencing earned Fred Sanger his second Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1980. Successfully encoding this genome quantum mechanically would represent a significant milestone for both genomics and quantum computing.
Earlier this year, the Sanger Institute selected Quantinuum as a technology partner in their bid to succeed in the Q4Bio challenge. Quantinuum’s System H2 has led the field of commercially available systems for qubit fidelity and currently holds the global record for Quantum Volume, benchmarked at 8,388,608 (223) in May 2025.
This collaboration allows the scientific research team to leverage Quantinuum’s full-stack approach to technology development – including hardware, software, and expertise in quantum algorithm development. The consortium’s work builds upon advancements made over the past quarter-century, where genomic sequencing that previously took 13 years and $2.7 billion can now be completed in under 12 minutes for a few hundred dollars, potentially establishing new benchmarks in the field of Quantum Pangenomics.
A Milestone Genome for Quantum Encoding
The Wellcome Leap Quantum for Bio (Q4Bio) challenge is pioneering this new frontier, funding research to develop quantum algorithms that can overcome current computational bottlenecks and test the classical boundaries of computational genetics in the next 3-5 years. A consortium led by the University of Oxford, supported by partners including the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the Universities of Cambridge, Melbourne, and Kyiv Academic University, is taking a leading role.
Rajeeb Hazra, President and CEO of Quantinuum, stated the company is honoured to partner in tackling complex challenges in genomics, bringing the world’s highest-performing quantum computers to the collaboration and opening new possibilities for health and medical science. Ilyas Khan, Founder and Chief Product Officer of Quantinuum, stated that quantum computational biology has long inspired the company, as it has the potential to transform global health and empower people everywhere to lead longer, healthier, and more dignified lives.