In the most extensive examination of current cell and gene therapy dealmaking, medical market research publisher, Kalorama Information, estimates that the industry attracted over $27 billion in investments throughout the first nine months of 2023.
The concepts of cell therapy and gene therapy have been investigated for decades, but there were major challenges in the early years. Through incremental progress, and the gradual introduction of enabling tools such as CRISPR and next-generation sequencing (NGS), cell and gene therapy has emerged into a highly active area. There are now many approved therapies with proven track records.
The advent of these new tools has lowered entry barriers for the industry, leading to the creation or involvement of over 1,500 companies. And through the first nine months of 2023 alone there have been more than $27 billion in investments in the cell and gene therapy market, according to Cell and Gene Therapy Funding and Deals Analysis: Financings, Partnering, M&A, Tech Transfers, IPOs/SPACs, Other Deals, 2021-2023 by leading medical market research firm Kalorama Information. The report is regarded as the most comprehensive analysis of current cell and gene therapy dealmaking available.
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The most active companies forming deals and collaborations in cell and gene therapy across a variety of categories include:
- Oxford BioMedica
- Astellas Pharma
- Takeda Pharmaceutical
- Eli Lilly
- Bristol Myers Squibb
- Novartis
- Ginkgo Bioworks
- Cytiva (Danaher)
- Resilience
- Fujifilm
Cell and gene therapy presents promising treatment avenues for various acquired illnesses like cancer, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and genetic disorders by addressing faulty genetic material. A recent example of the industry’s newsworthy relevance came on December 8, 2023, when the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved two gene therapies for sickle cell in a move that offers hope to thousands of people living with the debilitating and life-shortening inherited red blood cell disorder. The FDA’s approval also carries a historic distinction because one of the new therapies is the first commercially available treatment based on gene-editing technology in the United States.
Overall, the cell and gene market is also seeing these therapies extending their reach into diverse medical domains. This encompasses autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular conditions, musculoskeletal disorders, dermatological ailments, and various other areas.
As the industry advances, cell and gene therapy-related companies have continued to receive huge investments, though the annual total amounts have dipped year-to-year since 2021. The tighter funding environment is not unique to cell and gene therapy and has been seen across other industries. IPOs/FPOs dropped significantly but recovered to an extent. In practical terms, because cell and gene therapy companies are mostly startups, this tighter funding has been experienced as a lower average funding round for VC/private funding, while the number of those deals has remained consistent.
M&A activity, despite accounting for the most funding, has been extremely inconsistent. In the meantime, the number of certain categories such as collaborative deals, licensing, manufacturing/supply chain, and distribution/co-marketing agreements, have been mostly rising at varying rates. Collaboration payments have been a much lower dollar amount, but with large potential milestone payments; the payments being made are fairly consistent in the range of $500 million to $1 billion total per quarter. Those patterns seem to indicate a growing and maturing industry as a whole, despite the varying levels of funding.
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