While biopharmaceutical research is currently concentrating on the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the disease has provided a sharp reminder that our focus should not be lost on infectious diseases as a whole, along with the growing global problem of antibiotic resistance (AMR), which has the potential to dwarf COVID-19 in terms of deaths and economic costs, according to the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA).

In case you haven't heard, Tessera Therapeutics Inc. is working on techniques to write genes into the genome of patients. Tessera, which was developed in Flagship Pioneering Inc.'s Flagship Labs and became a stand-alone incorporated company two years ago, recently came out of stealth mode to highlight its Gene Writing platform based on mobile genetic elements, such as transposons and retrotransposons.

As society continues to re-open and biopharma companies move back toward a business-as-usual approach, the number of clinical trials affected by the COVID-19 pandemic has plummeted with only 12 reporting delays or disruptions in the month of June. This compares to 171 in April and 71 in May.

Amid a world that has been brought to its knees by the COVID-19 pandemic, the biopharma industry has learned how to quickly adapt under these extreme circumstances. Not only has it rapidly brought to bear huge research efforts to uncover potential therapeutics and vaccines to counter the circulating coronavirus, but also it has learned how to conduct its business activities in a completely different way. For example, the pandemic hasn't stopped biopharmas from going public, with 15 companies graduating to the public arena in June alone. These financings have contributed to the $62 billion that has been generated in combined global public and private company financings in the first half of the year.