Xanadu Quantum Technologies (NASDAQ: XNDU) and the University of Alberta announced a research partnership aimed at developing quantum algorithms for photodynamic cancer therapy, according to a company press release dated Aug. 13, 2026.

The partnership, led by Xanadu's algorithms team and Professor Alex Brown, chair of the University of Alberta's Department of Chemistry, will focus on building a quantum computing framework to assist in the design of photosensitizers — light-activated compounds used in photodynamic therapy to target and destroy tumor cells.

Photodynamic therapy relies on photosensitizers that are activated by specific wavelengths of light to trigger cancer cell death while limiting exposure to surrounding tissue. Xanadu said identifying new photosensitizers is constrained by the cost of laboratory experiments and the limitations of classical computational simulations in modeling key molecular interactions.

Xanadu said it has released results from work using quantum computers to simulate light-matter interactions in photosensitizer molecules, which the company said are difficult to model accurately with classical methods.

"Current methodologies for developing effective photosensitizers are hampered by a variety of hurdles. By leveraging early fault-tolerant quantum computers to model critical light-matter interactions within photosensitizers, we are positioning quantum computing as a highly competitive method for accelerating photodynamic drug discovery," said Dr. Christian Weedbrook, founder and chief executive officer of Xanadu.

Professor Brown said photosensitizers present computational challenges because their behavior depends on excited-state processes that standard methods struggle to capture. "By combining Xanadu's quantum algorithm expertise with our experience in modeling photodynamic therapy systems, we're excited to explore how fault-tolerant quantum computing could provide new tools for understanding and designing more effective light-activated cancer treatments," he said.

Toronto-based Xanadu, founded in 2016, develops photonic quantum computing hardware and software and has raised more than $600 million in funding.