Biotechnology company Biogen Inc. has completed an experiment that shows that quantum computers have the potential to speed up drug discovery for diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

The Cambridge, Mass.-based firm, which declined to be interviewed for this story, is the latest company to experiment with cutting-edge technology that harnesses the power of quantum mechanics to solve complex problems in nanoseconds. Experts say that within five yearsquantum computing will be powerful enough to solve problems that are currently beyond the scope of today’s most advanced computers.

Traditional computers use binary digits, or bits, which can either be 0s or 1s. Quantum computers use quantum binary digits, or qubits, which represent and store information in both 0s and 1s simultaneously. This means the computers have the potential to sort through a vast number of possibilities within a fraction of a second to come up with a probable solution.

Through a partnership with Accenture Plc and quantum computing software company 1QBit Information Technologies Inc., Biogen tested how quantum computers could help speed up the process of 3-D molecular comparisons, which are an important step in early-phase drug design and discovery, according to a press release from Accenture.

“At Biogen, we’re always looking to harness cutting-edge technologies that push the boundaries of traditional pharmaceutical research to discover new treatments and cures for complex neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative conditions,” said Govinda Bhisetti, head of computational chemistry at Biogen, in a statement.

The structure of molecules, in addition to their chemical features, can be used to predict both positive effects of specific drugs, as well as the negative effects, such as the toxicity of a molecule, said Andrew Fursman, co-founder and CEO of 1QBit. Molecular matching is a process that’s time-consuming for classical computers because they have to sequentially check molecular overlaps over a series of steps. Mr. Fursman likened it to comparing a triangle and a square, where the computer would start by comparing one corner, then an edge, then another corner, and so on, rotating the molecules and seeing how they match up. Quantum computers can be aware of all the different overlaps simultaneously, said Mr. Fursman.

After a two-month proof-of-concept test that took place earlier this year, researchers found that quantum computing method allowed Biogen to more accurately compare molecular structures and get more information about the comparisons than any of its existing methods, Mr. Fursman said. 1QBit also developed a software program that allowed the quantum computer to explain specifically how, why and where the molecules match with each other.

With more accurate comparison tools, Biogen would be able to cut expenses of screening different molecules for use in pharmaceuticals, because a more accurate initial comparison of molecules reduces the amount of trial, error and cost that is spent on drug development in the lab, Mr. Fursman said.

However, computing molecular matches at scale is not possible just yet because of the limitations of current quantum computers. The number of qubits created by companies to date remains relatively small, meaning experiments are currently limited to a narrow swath of information.

As quantum computers become more sophisticated and more qubits are created, perhaps as soon as 2018, Biogen will be able to harness the technology to speed up drug discovery, Mr. Fursman said.

“We want to make sure we’re sitting, ready for that hardware to arrive because we already know exactly what we want to use it for,” he said. “Drug discovery is absolutely compatible with the strengths of quantum computers.”

The experiments were conducted with quantum computing technology vendors D-Wave Systems Inc. and Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd.