Novartis is once again looking to be a pioneer in cell and gene therapy, though this time is selecting a potentially less complex administration method.

Companies such as Novartis, Roche or Takeda are heavily invested in the advanced therapeutics field, usually spreading their bets across multiple modalities. The remaining challenges offer opportunities for the next wave of innovation to transform the field once again and make a dent in the larger market of common diseases and solid tumors.

AstraZeneca is preparing a US filing for hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloid polyneuropathy for eplontersen, which it hopes will compete with Pfizer and Alnylam's therapies in that rare disease space.

The market for new company creation in the biopharma sector remains healthy and poised to continue fostering the establishment of start-ups, based on a new In Vivo study of the strong initial investments that pharma and biotech companies receive.