Biotech (2021)

1. 1. Advances in cell and gene therapy

   → The treatment of serious diseases has long revolved around using medication to treat symptoms. By restoring the body’s own tissue, CGT instead seeks to potentially cure diseases themselves.

   → While CGT holds immense medical and economic potential, its personalised nature means the route to market differs fundamentally from conventional paths.

2. 2. Towards personalised medicine

   → No disease is the same in any two individuals. A personalised approach tailors medicines to each patient’s unique genetic profile.

   → Personalised medicine relies both on advances in underlying tech such as CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing and insights about human genomics (and better patient stratification) more broadly.

3. 3. Addressing blind spots

   → For all the innovation in biotech, there are also overlooked areas at odds with current business models and economic incentives.

   → For example, addressing infectious diseases will become increasingly critical, but doing so will likely depend on governments, rather than the private sector, stepping up funding.

Who early stage startups are up against