Lo Andrew W
Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 100 Main Street, E62-618, Cambridge, 02142 MA US.
Atl Econ J. 2021;49(1):3-21. doi: 10.1007/s11293-021-09704-7. Epub 2021 Apr 1.
Funding for early-stage biomedical innovation has become more difficult to secure at the same time that medical breakthroughs seem to be occurring at ever increasing rates. One explanation for this counterintuitive trend is that increasing scientific knowledge can actually lead to greater economic risk for investors in the life sciences. While the Human Genome Project, high-throughput screening, genetic biomarkers, immunotherapies, and gene therapies have made a tremendously positive impact on biomedical research and, consequently, patient lives, they have also increased the cost and complexity of the drug development process, causing many investors to shift their assets to more attractive investment opportunities. This suggests that new business models and financing strategies can be used to reduce the risk and increase the attractiveness of biomedical innovation so as to bring new and better therapies to patients faster.
在医学突破似乎正以前所未有的速度出现的同时，为早期生物医学创新提供资金变得越来越困难。对于这种违反直觉的趋势，一种解释是，科学知识的增加实际上可能会给生命科学领域的投资者带来更大的经济风险。虽然人类基因组计划、高通量筛选、基因生物标志物、免疫疗法和基因疗法对生物医学研究以及患者生活产生了巨大的积极影响，但它们也增加了药物开发过程的成本和复杂性，导致许多投资者将资产转移到更具吸引力的投资机会上。这表明，可以采用新的商业模式和融资策略来降低风险，提高生物医学创新的吸引力，从而更快地为患者带来新的更好的疗法。
