Biotech is down. What if gene therapy is the problem?

Just a few months ago, Novartis won a landmark approval, Sarepta Therapeutics looked poised for a clinical victory, and patients with hemophilia could look forward to potentially life-changing therapies, all thanks to the promise of gene therapy. But a string of negative headlines has put the technology in a different light, and that might be dragging down all of biotech.

At least according to analysts at EvercoreISI, which compiled an index of companies at work on gene therapies. That cohort has fallen about 22% since August, erasing sizable gains from the first half of the year. That slump dovetails with a broader decline in biotech indices, and the two could well be correlated.

But the year isn’t over yet. There are a few events ahead that could help shift sentiment back to where it was over the summer, including a pair of FDA submissions and, perhaps most important, Roche finally figuring out how to seal its $4.3 billion acquisition of the gene therapy company Spark Therapeutics.

For more on all of that, check out our recent chat about the Q4 scorecard.