This has never happened before.
In eight years of hosting the blog carnival, we have never encountered a situation where the conclusions have been so similar. Given this year’s topic, the optimism is a good thing.
So here is our topic: Venture financing in cell therapies was at a record high in 2020 and 2021, but money isn’t flowing into the sector like it was during the pandemic. Have investors soured on cell therapies or will they regain their appetite?
Now you understand why consensus is a good thing. We absolutely don’t want investors to be fleeing the industry, never to return.
In case that feels like a spoiler alert, and you can stop right here, please don’t.
If you’ve “participated” in previous blog carnivals with Signals, you’re already familiar with the format. (Or catch up here.) There is a theme – see above – and the participating experts answer that question from their own lens and experience. You are encouraged to read all five posts because each writer approaches the topic in a unique, nuanced way.
Having said that, the repeated water/storm metaphor is hard to dismiss. What can I say? Great minds think alike. Also, perhaps the use of the word “flowing” in the topic had something to do with it. At least they didn’t use a drowning metaphor.
New contributor Emmanuel Grillot, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Altius Bioventures (a cell and gene therapy-focused venture firm with an early-stage fund), believes that early-stage investors will play a crucial role in advancing these therapies to commercial viability. He emphasizes that the industry’s current struggle to meet market demand can be addressed through non-therapeutic, next-generation innovations in production, analytics and distribution. Read how to weather the storm here.
Phil Vanek, Partner and CTO at Gamma Biosciences, takes a decidedly literary approach to the topic this year with his homage to Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” (The English major in me is always delighted when Signals’ bloggers invoke poems and novels to enhance their arguments.) Phil leans hard on sailing terms to make his point that blue skies and good conditions are ahead. As always, Phil uses his post to educate, amuse and share insight, and it is definitely worth a read.
Now that CCRM Nordic has joined the CCRM family, I’m pleased to introduce Stephanie Mattsson, Director of Venture Development, who agreed to share her thoughts on this year’s topic. Stephanie explores the macroeconomic landscape to explain how we ended up here, and then zooms in to focus on the cell and gene therapy industry. She argues that a “perfect storm” happened during the COVID-19 pandemic and offers suggestions on the actions we can take to regain investors’ trust. Be sure to read what she has to say.
Chih Wei Teng, Vice President Corporate Development at CCRM Australia, breaks the trend and ponders whether the decline in venture financing had anything to do with the Triple Helix Model of Innovation. He also writes about black swans and silver bullets. It’s a colourful take on the question and you don’t want to miss it. Although he never ventures into the territory of “perfect storms,” Chih Wei does write about a “series of unfortunate events.” Read it here.
Allison Brown, Executive Director of Medicine by Design, doesn’t mention storms or triple helix models or anything of that nature. A few years ago, David Walt, Harvard University, spoke on a panel at Medicine by Design’s annual symposium. He stated that intellectual capital attracts venture capital. Since venture capital has slowed, Allison says we must make a concerted effort to support intellectual capital, and she says we have all the ingredients to attract those investors to Canada. Read how that’s happening in Toronto.
What are your thoughts on this year’s topic? Do you agree with the optimism shared here or do you believe the bloggers are painting too rosy a picture? We definitely want to hear from you. Please share your comments below.
Stacey Johnson
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