Rare Disease Therapies: Four Trends to Watch

In recent years, there has been a sense of elevated challenge in the development and commercialization of rare disease (RD) therapies, as well as some heightened skepticism regarding the future of investment in the space. Nevertheless, the RD market is growing and it’s anticipated to generate around $500 billion annually by the early 2030s.

Overall, our team has identified four key trends that are currently driving change in the RD market and should exert significant influence on how things evolve over the next 12 to 18 months. This paper explores each trend individually.

Tim Barder

Tim Barder’s well-rounded professional background combines a scientific foundation with biopharma industry experience and strategy consulting. His academic background in chemistry led him to scientific roles at Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Merck. Later, he transitioned into consulting, and he held consulting and leadership roles at Arthur D. Little, LEK, and Lumanity prior to joining Blue Matter in 2025. Tim’s focus areas include enterprise, franchise, and asset growth strategy; commercial strategy; go-to-market strategy and execution; business development and licensing; cell and gene therapy commercialization; patient centricity, and more across a broad range of complex markets and therapeutic areas. Tim earned his Ph.D. in organic chemistry at MIT and a B.S. in chemistry at UC San Diego.

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Tara Austraat-Churik

Tara brings more than 20 years of strategy consulting and leadership experience spanning the health care and life sciences sectors. Her areas of expertise include strategy development and implementation, operating model and organizational design, and process optimization in R&D and Medical Affairs. She also specializes in technology transfer and commercialization. Prior to joining Blue Matter, Tara served as Managing Director in Health, Science, and Wellness at EY. She previously served as the Acting General Manager of a $6B technology consulting services division, led a $1B alliances, channels, and ecosystem division, and led large commercial partnerships focused on the emerging AI sector for R&D in the life sciences. Tara holds a BA and MA from the University of Notre Dame and an MSc in Translational Medicine from the University of Edinburgh.

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Milena Sullivan

Milena Sullivan is a Partner on Blue Matter’s Market Access team with deep expertise in health policy. She brings more than two decades of experience navigating federal and state policy landscapes to advance business goals. Her robust background includes leadership roles in both the biopharma industry and consulting. Prior to joining Blue Matter, Milena led Avalere Health’s policy practice, where she oversaw client growth, managed multidisciplinary teams, and served as a trusted strategic advisor to both internal stakeholders and external partners. Her earlier experience includes policy-related leadership roles at Bristol-Myers Squibb and Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, as well as policy roles in the nonprofit space, including at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Milena holds an MA in International Policy and Practice from The George Washington University and a BA from Miami University of Ohio.

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Rare Disease Therapies: Four Trends to Watch

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