Biotech as an asset class

From making the world a better place, to offering attractive returns, the biotech sector is rapidly becoming an attractive investment asset class

So, it’s no surprise that the sector is experiencing a global surge in investors.

Billions upon billions have been recently invested, and, as more money floods into the biotech sector, it means more breakthrough discoveries, which in turn, saves lives.

“The biotech sector is an identified asset class in the U.S., but outside of it, it really hasn’t really caught on as much,” Cure Brain Cancer Foundation CEO Lance Kawaguchi recently revealed.

“I’m trying to also educate people that early stage Phase 0, Phase 1 and even Phase 2 biotechs are also attractive asset classes.”

One organisation that understands the importance of investment in research is Alma Life Sciences, as they are an early-stage investment firm focusing on the creation and growth of innovative healthcare companies.

“Investment is important in early stages, not just Phase 3, but mainly in early stages,” Alma Life Sciences co-founder Dr. Magda Marquet asserts.

“We have to realise that as a society, we live longer and, and because of this, we have the possibility to have cancers at later stages of our lives.

“So, we need to constantly bring new approaches and new solutions.”

Marquet uses the example of how investing in Oncology has been rewarding, both on a philosophical and financial level.

“Investing in Oncology has played a major role in decreasing the global death rate,” she continues. “As biotech becomes the pipeline for Pharma, research can be invested in at early stages, which is not the case in other diseases.

“It’s a very important area of investment.

“And the fact that you make not just financial (rewards), you can have the opportunity of a huge financial gain, but you also have a huge impact in society.”

Just as the rewards can be life-changing, the risks involved – both at a research and investment level – are also high, and can take many years for the fruits of the labour to come to fruition.

“The risks that people hear comes from a lack of understanding – the fact that it takes a long time,” Marquet continues to elaborate.

“In another sector, the path is a lot more clear.

“In biotech, the risk-reward equation, it’s a little different. So that’s why I think education is so important.”