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Healthcare News

This sector includes biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, research services, home healthcare, hospitals, long-term care facilities, and medical equipment and supplies. Companies in this sector include Astra Zeneca, Pfizer and Roche Holding.

05 Feb 2021
RTW Landos Biopharma

Successful IPO for RTW Venture Fund’s Landos Biopharma

RTW Venture Fund has provided a brief update on portfolio company Landos Biopharma’s IPO. The IPO raised US$100 million by offering 6,250,000 shares at $16.00 per share, and Landos is now listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under ticker: LABP. Landos was one of the seed assets included in the Company’s portfolio at the time of […]

29 Jan 2021
BB Biotech tops biotech trust league in January

FDA delay backs BB Biotech view on Biogen Alzheimer’s drug

US biotech giant Biogen – in which the Swiss investor BB Biotech (SIX:BION) holds a stake equivalent to 2.9% of its portfolio value – has seen its stock open up 7% this morning on the back of announcement by the FDA of a three-month delay in the review of the controversial Alzheimer’s therapy aducanumab. The […]

25 Jan 2021

BB Biotech bets big on an unexpected Alzheimer’s approval

Switzerland’s BB Biotech (SIX:BION) has made a $130m investment in Biogen, a US large cap biotech company that would normally fall outside its small-to mid cap investment area, in a bid to capitalise on the possible approval over the next few weeks of an Alzheimer’s therapy that has been largely written off by the market. […]

22 Jan 2021

BB Biotech raises dividend after strong year

Switzerland’s BB Biotech (SIX:BION) recorded a solid investment performance in 2020 despite the volatile markets, according to its preliminary report. The trust saw a 16.4% rise in NAV (with a 12 % rise in share price) over the year, with a 20.6% gain in portfolio value (25.5% in US dollars) and the share price up […]

07 Jan 2021

RTW makes new investment in Biomea Fusion

RTW makes new investment in Biomea Fusion – RTW Venture Fund, alongside other investment vehicles of RTW Investments, LP – its investment manager – and other investment firms, has participated in a $56m Series A financing round for Biomea Fusion. Biomea is a US-based privately held precision oncology company dedicated to developing innovative medicines targeting specific […]

10 Dec 2020

RTW’s Rocket takes off on good clinical data

RTW’s Rocket takes off on good clinical data – RTW Venture Fund notes positive data updates on four clinical trials of Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: RCKT). This is the largest holding in RTW’s portfolio, representing about 30% of NAV. Rocket is advancing an integrated and sustainable pipeline of first-in-class genetic therapies that correct the root cause […]

30 Nov 2020

New IPO – Intuitive Investments

New IPO – Intuitive Investments – Intuitive Investments Group, a closed-end investment company focussed on the life sciences sector, announces its intention to seek admission of the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of the company to the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, and a conditional placing of 37,500,000 new ordinary […]

19 Nov 2020

Syncona founds Purespring

Syncona founds Purespring Therapeutics with a £45.0 million Series A financing commitment. Syncona will have an 84% stake in the business. Purespring Therapeutics is one of the first AAV gene therapy companies focused on the kidney. It has been founded around the work of Professor Moin Saleem, Professor of Paediatric Renal Medicine at the University of Bristol, […]

02 Oct 2020

Successful IPO for RTW Venture Fund’s Pulmonx Corporation

RTW Venture Fund’s portfolio company, Pulmonx Corporation, announced on 30 September 2020 the pricing of its US$190 million initial public offering (IPO) as well as its admission to trading on Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker: LUNG. Pulmonx is a medical device company that commercializes the Zephyr Valve System, which it says is the first […]

07 Aug 2020

Syncona updates on Freeline IPO

Syncona has provided an update on the initial public offering (IPO) of its company, Freeline Therapeutics Holdings Plc. Freeline is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on AAV-based gene therapy targeting the liver. The key takeaways from the announcement are as follows: Freeline has announced the pricing of its IPO in the United States. This is […]

22 Jun 2020

BioPharma Credit’s discount control mechanism activated

BioPharma Credit (BPCR), the specialist life sciences debt investor, has announced that its discount control mechanism has been activated. The company will be required to purchase shares in the market as a result of the shares trading in excess of a 5% discount to NAV over a three-month rolling period, using the methodology described in the company’s […]

18 May 2020

Interim results from Polar Capital Global Healthcare as biotech emerges as its largest overweight

US-focused Polar Capital Global Healthcare (PCGH), reported interim results this morning, covering the six months to 31 March 2020. The portfolio’s NAV total return over the period was (5.97%), compared to a 0.34% return from the benchmark MSCI ACWI/Healthcare index PCGH noted that the early part of the period was challenging for fundamental investors, as we […]

01 Apr 2020

BB Healthcare announces changes to its AIFM agreement, no change to strategy or lead managers

BB Healthcare (BBH) announced the appointment of Bellevue Asset Management (Bellevue UK) as its new manager, in a move that had been put forward in BBH’s IPO prospectus dated 5 November 2016. Bellevue had been hitherto delegated management of the trust by Mirabella Fund Services (Mirabella). it was intended that Bellevue would eventually take over management of BBH’s portfolio, […]

23 Mar 2020

Comprehensive Covid-19 update from BB Healthcare

BB Healthcare (BBH) has been actively growing over the past year, with issued shares increasing by 36% over the financial year to 30 November 2019. We covered its annual results last month, which you can access by clicking here. The environment has obviously changed beyond recognition since we last wrote on BBH, with Covid-19 developing […]

10 Mar 2020

BioPharma Credit significantly increased its scale over 2019

BioPharma Credit (BPCR) has published annual results to 31 December 2019. The company says it is London’s only specialist debt investor to the life sciences industry. The company seeks to achieve returns for its shareholders primarily through investments in debt assets secured by royalties or other cash flows derived from the sales of approved life sciences […]

21 Feb 2020

BB Healthcare expanding rapidly

BB Healthcare expanding rapidly – BB Healthcare has announced results for the year ended 30 November 2019. Over that period, the trust lagged its benchmark, returning 6.6% in NAV terms and 6.9% in share price terms against 8.6% for the MSCI World Healthcare Index. However, the board is focusing on the trust’s three year numbers  – […]

13 Feb 2020

Syncona’s Freeline trials encouraging

Syncona’s Freeline trials encouraging – Syncona has nine investments in companies addressing a range of diseases, including many that are currently untreatable. QuotedData’s analyst, James Carthew, wrote an article about the company recently which explains a bit about how Syncona goes about investing in these businesses. One of these, Freeline, is using gene therapy to […]

12 Feb 2020

DRI Healthcare IPO seeks US$350m for healthcare royalties investment

DRI Healthcare PLC (DHP), a new closed end investment company that is focused on investments in healthcare royalty assets has published a prospectus in relation to an initial public offering (IPO) of shares on the premium segment of the main market of the London Stock Exchange. In summary: The company is seeking to raise $350m to invest […]

30 Jan 2020

Syncona updates on Autolus

Syncona updates on Autolus – Autolus Therapeutics, a key holding for Syncona, has announced additional data regarding its ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial of its next-generation programmed T cell therapy, AUTO3, to treat adults with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The data is to be presented in a keynote lecture titled “Improved CAR T […]

19 Dec 2019

BioPharma Credit funds Global Blood Therapeutics

BioPharma Credit funds Global Blood Therapeutics – BioPharma Credit has entered into a definitive senior secured term loan agreement with Global Blood Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: GBT) alongside BioPharma Credit Investments V (Master) LP. The company will invest up to US$82.5 million in two tranches and BioPharma-V will invest an additional US$67.5 million. Global Blood Therapeutics […]

19 Dec 2019

Syncona invests $80m in Freeline

Syncona invests $80m in Freeline – Syncona has made a $80.0 million commitment in a Series C financing by Freeline and has funded the first tranche of this commitment, amounting to $40.0 million (GBP30.6 million). Syncona has a 79% fully diluted ownership stake in Freeline at the point full current commitments are invested. Freeline is progressing […]

09 Dec 2019

New data from Syncona’s Autolus holding

New data from Syncona’s Autolus holding – Syncona (SYNC), a leading healthcare company focused on founding, building and funding global leaders in life science, has this morning made note of the announcement that its portfolio company, Autolus Therapeutics (Autolus), announced new data highlighting progress on its next-generation programmed T cell therapies to treat patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse […]

13 Nov 2019

New investments from BioPharma Credit

New investments from BioPharma Credit – BioPharma Credit (BPCR) has announced that it has entered into two separate loan agreements to invest US$52.5m now and up to an additional US$32.5m over the next twelve months. Epizyme – epigenetic therapies On 4 November 2019, BPCR entered into a definitive senior secured term loan agreement for up to […]

13 Sep 2019

Biogen/Eisai discontinue BACE inhibitor in Alzheimer’s 

Biogen/Eisai discontinue BACE inhbitor in Alzheimer’s US-biotech Biogen and its Japanese partner Eisai have stopped two large Phase III studies of the investigational BACE (beta amyloid cleaving enzyme) inhibitor elenbecestat/E2609 for Alzheimer’s disease, after an interim safety review highlighted an unfavourable risk-benefit ratio. The move effectively marks the end of development of agents in this […]

09 Sep 2019

Acadia stock surges 65% on positive trial result in dementia psychosis

Acadia stock surges 65% on positive trial result in dementia psychosis – US biotech Acadia Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ACAD) saw its stock jump 65% today on the back of a positive result in its “Harmony” Phase III study of Nuplazid (pimavanserin) for dementia-related psychosis. The company reported that the study met its primary endpoint, demonstrating a […]

03 Sep 2019

Syncona funding Gyroscope and Achilles

Syncona funding Gyroscope and Achilles – Syncona has announced two deals this morning. The first is a £48m commitment to Gyroscope Therapeutics, making up most of a £50.4m Series B financing. This brings Syncona’s total commitment to Gyroscope since foundation to £82.0m and it owns an 80 per cent stake in the business. Syncona is holding this […]

12 Aug 2019

Autolus investment the main drag in an otherwise solid quarter from Syncona

Autolus investment the main drag in an otherwise solid quarter from Syncona – Syncona, which predominantly invests in life sciences companies, has released a quarterly update this morning (covering the period to 30 June 2019). We have covered many of the events referenced by the company, in earlier news stories, which we link to in […]

30 Jul 2019

BioPharma updates on Lexicon

BioPharma updates on Lexicon – BioPharma Credit has updaed the market following an announcement from Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Sanofi has made a notice of termination in relation to its collaboration and license agreement with Lexicon for the development and commercialization of Zynquista. Sanofi’s actions do not impact XERMELO(R) which is marketed by Lexicon in the US […]

25 Jul 2019

BMS claims still on track to close Celgene deal by early 2020 

BMS claims still on track to close Celgene deal by early 2020 – Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) has confirmed that it remains on track to close its proposed $74bn acquisition of the US biotech giant Celgene by the end 2019 or in early 2020, even though this is now dependent on securing a separate deal to […]

25 Jul 2019

Trust favourite Sage to test ‘217 in treatment resistant depression

Trust favourite Sage to test ‘217 in treatment resistant depression  – US biotech Sage Therapeutics announced plans to advance its lead development candidate, SAGE-217 (zuranolone) into a Phase III trial for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). The drug is already in Phase III for major depressive disorder (MDD) and has completed – successfully – a Phase III […]

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