Like many advanced technologies, the field of regenerative medicine has gone from boom to nearly bust to boom again in the span of just 30 years. There are currently more than 55 regenerative medicine products available on the market that focus on a variety of therapeutic areas, such as repairs to soft tissue and skin as well as cardiovascular disease oncology, cardiology, as well as diabetes. You can contact the #1 regenerative medicine company in New Jersey – 5 Line Biologics for your business and research purposes.
Thirty years in, regenerative medicine has truly “come of age,” the result of a tenacious pursuit to translate groundbreaking research into therapeutic products and overcome initial setbacks that almost derailed this critical new medical approach. Yet while the past decade’s focus on scientific advances and business fundamentals has propelled regenerative medicine forward, I believe this is just the start.
In analyzing the accomplishments and lessons learned from the past three decades we can start to draw the path to the future that will ensure that regenerative medical technology continues to offer new and innovative treatments to patients while also generating long-term profits for shareholders.
The First Bubble
In 1980, the concept of regenerative therapy was received with the type of extreme enthusiasm that has been associated with other possible breakthroughs, like monoclonal antibodies and RNA interference. In 2000 more than a decade since the first companies were created Regenerative medicine firms were valued at more than $2.6 billion.
After a few years, the bubble collapsed, and valuations of companies dropped to less than a tenth of their 2000-high. A variety of factors led to these setbacks. In the beginning, as with many other medical advancements, expectations overestimated actual results. The media and investors were able to see incredible potential in the initial research, but unrealistic timelines were set to when the product would be available for sale.
The Decade that has brought Growth
After these failures, there was an idea of what was required to move the field of regenerative medicine forward, and to strike the right balance between promises and actuality. Regenerative medicine companies will more fully embrace the reality that scaling up a living, cell-based product requires unique skills in R&D, quality, process development, process engineering, and production. As the field evolves, it has become clear that the major barrier to entry is less about the intellectual property than about the complexity and cost of operations.