Carmen Jones, principal at a venture capital firm in the biotechnology industry, pondered the latest deal the firm was considering. It had recently closed a $700 million fund and was evaluating several early-stage drug development companies, among them Switch Infinity Therapeutics, which proved increasingly interesting the more she learned about it. Switch was utilizing cutting-edge CRISPR gene-editing technology for a gene therapy to permanently cure sickle cell disease, a major cause of death and disability. While this treatment had the potential to be both incredibly impactful and lucrative, it was a new therapy built on new technologies that carried a lot of risk, and investment in it would take a large portion of the capital in the new fund.

This public-sourced case introduces some key factors in decision-making around investing in new medical treatments. At the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, it is taught in the second-year “Healthcare Finance” course; due to its low technical requirements, it would also be suitable in an advanced undergraduate context or as a module on broader venture financing.