Money is flowing into gene therapy as investors have started looking favorably on the risk-reward prospects of the space. "I believe the risk has really substantially decreased as regulatory path has become clearer. There are more projects with lower risk," said Sarah Bhagat, a partner at Sofinnova Investments.
Although FDA approvals in 2020 are falling just shy of records, the amount of regulatory news this year is more than twice the amount seen only four years ago and a 41% increase over that reported in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic accounts for roughly 14% of the total, but regardless, by all accounts, 2020 has been an excessively busy year for both the biopharma industry and regulatory agencies.
A third-quarter progress report from the international advocacy group Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM) has determined that the regenerative medicine and advanced therapy (RMAT) sector established a highwater mark of $15.9 billion in global financings, breaking the previous annual record of $13.5 billion that was set in 2018.
Nothing much has changed since last month. This year is still, by far, the best year for financings in biopharma history, although the gap between 2020 and the next highest year has widened even more.