Investment for companies developing cell and gene therapies (CGTs) was discussed during the Genscript Biotech Global Forum London 2024 conference held on 20 November 2024. Following a sharp drop in CGT investment in 2022, trends suggest that CGT investment is currently undergoing a “renormalization”, commented speakers Josh Resnik, senior managing director at RA Capital Management, and Ping Shek, managing director at Stifel’s Healthcare Investment Banking Division. However, investors continue to be selective in funding CGT companies, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
Alison Labya, Business Fundamentals Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “CGTs have faced challenges in attracting investment due to the large amount of capital required to manufacture CGTs, as well as concerns around reimbursement of one-off, high-cost therapies and patient access.”
In addition, competition from “not-so-complicated biologics” in oncology and immunology was noted as a factor that has impacted investor sentiment of CGTs.
Resnik expressed that CGTs must demonstrate a strong value proposition that is unable to be replicated by other drug modalities to secure sufficient venture financing. A recent example that was highlighted was AvenCell Therapeutics securing $112 million in Series B financing in October 2024, led by Novo Holdings, towards its universal switchable chimeric antigen receptor-T-cell platform for the treatment of hematological malignancies and autoimmune diseases.
Labya concludes: “The importance of ongoing innovation in CGT manufacturing to reduce costs and accelerate timelines was a theme that was reiterated throughout the conference. Resnik noted that historical trends suggest that unit costs for drugs typically decrease over time as manufacturing efficiency improves with technological advancements, which has facilitated the commercial success of other biologics.
“Furthermore, risk reduction of CGTs by managing chemistry, manufacturing, and controls (CMC) complexities; addressing reimbursement challenges – especially in the US; and improving patient access are viewed as key to attracting investment.”
