This “World View” column, written for Bank Hapoalim clients and published periodically in Globes, looks at three technology and market trends through an investor lens. The author is described as a geopolitics and Israel-U.S. relations expert from the bank’s trading room.
First, a new biomanufacturing breakthrough could reshape how the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin is made. The drug, used to treat more than 1 million patients a year, has long been constrained by inefficient natural bacterial production, forcing the industry into expensive multi-step chemical processes. A multinational team, including researchers from the University of Turku in Finland, has now solved major bottlenecks in the bacterial production mechanism and engineered a strain that produces 180% more of the drug than the standard. The article says this could move production to the West, reduce dependence on raw materials mainly sourced from Asia, and help companies meet tighter environmental rules. It names Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Teva and Sun Pharma as potential beneficiaries, alongside synthetic biology suppliers such as Twist Bioscience and Thermo Fisher.
Second, the promise of electric air taxis is running into courts and regulation. Joby Aviation, which leads the field, is locked in a fierce legal battle with rival Archer Aviation in California, draining capital and slowing both companies’ rollout plans. Across the United States, deployment of air taxi services is also facing an unprecedented wave of lawsuits and regulatory barriers. The piece warns that the U.S. risks losing its technological lead to faster, more centralized Chinese models.
Third, gaming is presented as a proxy for wider supply-chain and geopolitical pressures. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney criticized Valve’s Steam Deck OLED price increase from $649 to $949, which Valve attributes to a global shortage of memory and storage components. The article also notes that Europe is pushing its own modular, AI-based game engine through Ariane Brusse, while Saudi Arabia is investing billions under Vision 2030 to gain a foothold in esports and the digital economy. The investor message is to focus on hardware supply chains, long time horizons, and the strategic value of gaming assets.
