What happens when a quantum computing pioneer discovers the hidden wisdom of native plants? Samarth Sandeep’s journey started with a teenage dream to build a seawater-powered car. Today, he’s CEO of If and Only If Technologies, revolutionizing protein interactions through quantum algorithms and quantum chemistry while challenging how the biotech industry thinks about emerging technologies.

The Environmental Justice Connection

Walking past a red-fenced garden in San Jose, Samarth discovered California Native Garden Foundations’ (CNGF’s) native plant ecosystems that have lower microplastic content than conventional farms’ soils. This wasn’t just about gardening - it inspired and furthered Samarth’s interests around how indigenous plant knowledge could unlock new medicines througg sustainably sourced means .

Quantum vs. LLMs : The Industry Paradox

Here’s what makes this conversation fascinating: Samarth argues that biotech companies embrace unpredictable LLMs but largely view quantum computing as something to take up in the future, even though quantum algorithms have better-understood computational complexities than current LLMs in drug discovery. His QAOA-based protein pruning approach works with current quantum hardware limitations, making it more practical than full quantum docking attempts.

Clinical Breakthroughs

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, his quantum algorithms helped to debunk the role of dangerous drug combinations like hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin as potential antivirals impacting SARS-CoV-2’s binding to ACE2, potentially saving lives. His work since then focused on surfactant proteins in COVID-19 . These same lung proteins exist in reproductive tissue, opening new pathways for ovarian cancer research. Additionally, through collaborations with Mount Sinai researchers and others, he’s translating quantum-enhanced protein modeling into clinical practice.

🎧 Ready to explore how environmental stewardship, quantum computing reliability, and protein network discoveries are converging to transform medicine?

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samarth-sandeep-81a02487/

Literature mentioned:

1. Aramyan S, McGregor K, Sandeep S, Haczku A. SP-A binding to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein using hybrid quantum and classical in silico modeling and molecular pruning by Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA) Based MaxCut with ZDOCK. Frontiers in Immunology. 2022 Sep 13;13:945317.
2. Montanez-Barrera JA, Michielsen K, Neira DE. Evaluating the performance of quantum processing units at large width and depth. arXiv preprint arXiv:2502.06471. 2025 Feb 10.
3. Yan L, Samarth S, Kirk M, Chandler HP. Developing a Proteomic Framework of Oncopathologies for Rare Hematological Malignancies, like T Lymphomas, through Protein-Protein Interactions to Effectively Connect Patients to Real-World Clinical Trials. In American Journal of Hematology 2022 Oct 1 (Vol. 97, pp. S12-S13)., NJ USA: WILEY. P-018.

Further Links:

Iff Website: https://iff.bio

California Native Garden Foundation Website: cngf.org

The disclaimer: All chats at entangled health are a co-creation between the guest and myself, and not an official statement from our industries. Guests are here in a personal capacity, as am I, so everything we share is just our own take, not the official view of any company nor of my employer or any other organization.