How 2 scientific pioneers teamed up to run AskBio, Bayer's new gene therapy division

Large pharmaceutical companies have made gene therapy a priority with a series of acquisitions over the past several years, a stamp of validation for a field that's pushed through decades of ups and downs.

One of the latest buyers is German healthcare conglomerate Bayer, which in October inked a $2 billion deal for North Carolina gene therapy developer Asklepios Biopharmaceuticals, also known as AskBio.