Quantum-Enabled Drug Repurposing for Accelerated Sustainable Drug Development: A Legal and Technological Perspective

Abstract

Given the growing need for environmentally friendly and cost-efficient drug development, alternative approaches are required that minimize the environmental impact and meet regulatory standards. Quantum Computing-Based Drug Repurposing Framework (QC-DRF) to identify new therapeutic applications for existing drug molecules is presented in this paper based on quantum machine learning (QML) and quantum-assisted molecular simulations. The effects of this framework translate to accelerate the drug discovery while largely eliminating the need to rely on costly chemical synthesis and animal testing. An additional feature is an AI-powered legal compliance module that will keep you within the boundaries of the intellectual property (IP) laws, regulatory approvals (FDA, EMA), as well as the data privacy standards (GDPR, HIPAA). To this end, a blockchain-integrated smart contract-based system is proposed to handle the drug patent licensing issues, to prevent legal disputes and keep access transparent. Moreover, the framework also allows pharmaceutical companies to expedite the repurposed drug development through legal roadblocks such as the 505(b)(2) application process and conditional marketing authorization. In addition, quantum resistance of encryption guarantees secure biomedical data processing. Introduction of an integration of quantum computing within legal and ethical considerations increases the cost-effective, sustainable and legally compliant pharmaceutical innovation. QC-DRF is validated through experimental analysis and case studies to be an efficient method to revolutionise the drug repurposing, while simultaneously reducing environmental footprints and achieving equitable global access to affordable medicines.