Regenerative medicine: the future of medicine?

I have received an advertisement about the prospect: “Translational Regenerative Medicine: Market Prospects 2012-2022”. It summarizes the following fields:

• Tissue engineering, organogenesis and organ transplants

• Autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI)

• Haematopoietic stem cell transplantation and other cellular treatments

• Orthobiologics, biomaterials, neuroprotection and nanotechnology

• Gene therapy, including delivery and viral vectors

• Bone marrow material and human embryonic stem cells

• Mesenchymal stem cell technologies

• Skin regeneration, wound repair, cosmetic uses and treating degenerative disorders

• Treatment of leg ulcers, cartilage, livers, hearts and eyes

Sure, some of these fields are devoted to very small markets; some of the fields are even pseudo-scientific. I have already written about the issue here and here.

The R&D pipeline is strong and promising. Overall world revenue for that market area will reach $1.4bn in 2012, our report forecasts. There will be high demand for treatments, with degenerative diseases, wound healing and other applications stimulating progress.

Sure, the demand for regenerative treatment can be extremely high if regenerative treatment can show its efficiency. So far – so bad! Unsatisfactory. Very far from being satisfactory. And the whole market is $1.4bn in 2012? Is it a joke? One not-very-best blockbuster generates much more revenue!

However I hope that regenerative medicine will be very important in the future. Namely here Big Pharma will create new bubbles to burn its R&D budgets. It will be very hot area – probably not tomorrow but the day after tomorrow. And as usually – nobody knows, a new Black Swan can happen! And I hope for that very much.