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.

早期生物医学创新的资金变得更加难以获得，与此同时，医学突破似乎正在以越来越快的速度发生。对这种违反直觉的趋势的一种解释是，增加科学知识实际上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、遗传生物标志物、免疫疗法和基因疗法对生物医学研究产生了巨大的积极影响，从而对患者的生命产生了巨大的影响，但它们也增加了药物开发过程的成本和复杂性，导致许多投资者将他们的资产转向更具吸引力的投资机会。