Yes, the biotech revolution rolls on, despite the broader market s gyrations. Here s why. When that happens, we ll finally know how many genes we have. I think there will be fewer genes than many previously expected, and companies with the strongest gene patent portfolios will instantly become more valuable. As the sector matures, the biotech game is no longer played in one arena.
Companies know they are competing with several promising technologies at once.
Among the best biotech companies are those that fill their drug pipelines efficiently. That means far less money is needed to develop drugs, and companies can start seeing revenues twice as fast as they used to. Then there are the gene therapy companies developing products to actually cure diseases at their foundation by fixing a faulty gene or replacing it with a new one. Even large-cap biotech companies know they need to invest in gene therapy, much as they learned in the past couple of years that they need to invest in monoclonal antibody technology. Biotechs will continue to partner with big pharmaceutical companies, but the relationships will be on a more equal footing than they used to be, when pharma companies were predatory in dealing with cash-poor biotechs.