Cleveland Clinic’s quantum computer, CAS data power new Alzheimer’s research pact

CAS and Cleveland Clinic are joining forces, uniting CAS’s scientific knowledge management expertise with Cleveland Clinic’s AI and quantum computing capabilities to tackle drug discovery challenges in Alzheimer’s disease, while also focusing on broader research related to health, wellness, and healthy aging. The collaboration will apply Cleveland Clinic’s advanced AI algorithms to analyze CAS’s curated scientific data. The aim is to build sophisticated disease models and identify potential therapeutic pathways more swiftly.

The collaboration was announced during the Cleveland Discovery & Innovation Forum, where officials underscored the need for new approaches to brain health research. The collaboration will draw from “Cleveland Clinic’s expertise in biomedical research and clinical care with CAS leadership in scientific data and technology,” noted Lara Jehi, M.D., Cleveland Clinic Chief Research Information Officer, Cleveland Clinic in a release. The partnership will tap the IBM Quantum System One at Cleveland Clinic, the first quantum computer fully dedicated to healthcare research, tapping its computational muscle for complex research problems pertinent to drug discovery.

One pillar of the collaboration is CAS Content Collection, a comprehensive resource of curated scientific information. In the alliance, researchers will tap this dataset with AI and quantum algorithms to build and train sophisticated, disease-specific models.

The partnership aims to create broader healthcare innovation beyond its initial Alzheimer’s focus. Disease-specific models developed for Alzheimer’s are intended as potential templates for tackling other chronic diseases, with an emphasis on advancing preventative and predictive strategies. This ambition addresses the lengthy traditional timeline for therapeutic development. “Recognizing it takes 17 years for a scientific discovery in a lab to become an approved test or therapy, we are confident that together, we can close that gap,” stated Manuel Guzman, CAS President.

The initiative draws support from the IBM–Cleveland Clinic Discovery Accelerator, a broader 10-year alliance within which this collaboration operates, also involving hybrid cloud, digital health, and education initiatives.

The initiative is further bolstered by the Cleveland Innovation District, which unites state and local resources with Cleveland’s health and education sectors to accelerate research and economic growth.

CAS is a division of the American Chemical Society specializing in scientific content and knowledge management.