BOSTON – The CEO of the American Society for Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT), David Barrett, JD, presented highlights from the Society’s latest Landscape Report on Cell, Gene and RNA Therapy for the first quarter (Q1) of 2026. The ASGCT report is developed in conjunction with Citeline, a subsidiary of Norstella (a pharmaceutical intelligence provider covering drug development from preclinical to commercialization). Barrett said there are currently 42 gene therapies approved worldwide, along with 38 RNA therapies and 76 (non-genetically modified) cell therapies, which are steadily growing the field. Two cell therapies were approved in Japan in Q1. There was a small increase in deal-making, and a significant 30% increase in startup funding compared to the same period in 2025. “I think that signals and underscores a rebounding sector,” said Barrett. Of the eight gene therapies approved over the past 12 months, half were in the United States, with three more in China. “The regulatory pace is starting to pick up, another strong indicator for the future of our field,” Barrett said. It is a similar picture in RNA therapies. “We see a steady uptick over the course of the last year,” he added. Zooming out, Barrett estimated that there are more than 4,200 therapies currently in development, from preclinical through pre-registration. The vast majority of those (more than 4,130) are gene and genetically modified cell therapies, including about 1,300 RNA therapies. In the field of gene-modified cell therapies, CAR T continues to lead the pipeline for ex vivo gene…
