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.
Alexion files for key drug with priority review voucher Trust favourite Alexion Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ALXN) yesterday confirmed it had made a US regulatory submission for approval of ALXN1210, its long-acting C5 complement inhibitor, for the treatment of the ultra-rare condition of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH). Alexion is a cornerstone holding for both the OrbiMed-managed Biotech Growth Trust […]
WPCT still at bottom of bio specialist trust league in May Neil Woodford’s eponymous Patient Capital Trust (WPCT) has once again ranked at the bottom of the performance league table of biotech/healthcare specialist investment trusts maintained by Marten & Co in the month of May, both in terms of price and NAV total return. This is […]
Arix, Syncona and WPCT look set to reap gains on pending Autolus Nasdaq IPO Three LSE-listed health/biotech venture capital investment firms – Arix Bioscience (ARIX), Syncona (SYNC) and Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT) – should see a nice boost to their NAV if Autolus, the UK-based CAR-T cell company completes its proposed Nasdaq IPO. Autolus is a portfolio company for […]
FDA fast track review for trust-backed Sage Therapeutics Sage Therapeutics (Nasdaq: SAGE), a high conviction idea for two of the biotech sector specialist investment trusts, has confirmed that the US FDA has accepted the NDA filing for its lead product, brexanolone IV for treatment of postpartum (post natal) depression (PPD), and granted the application priority review status. NDA […]
Trust favourite Genmab hit by trial setback Denmark’s Genmab, a widely-held stock among the sector specialist investment trusts, has suffered a major setback in the past week with failure/termination of studies involving its lead product Darzalex, which is sold by Johnson & Johnson. The studies were both aimed at expanding the range of uses of Darzalex, […]
Biotech Growth blames large caps for 2017/18 under-performance OrbiMed-managed Biotech Growth Trust (BIOG) blamed an overweight position in large cap stocks for under-performance against the benchmark Nasdaq Biotechnology index (NBI) in the six months to March 2018 and financial year as a whole, having recorded a 6.7% fall in NAV against a 2.2% fall for […]
WPCT sees £43m drop in value of Prothena stake value Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT) lost £43m on its investment in Prothena last month, following the failure of the company’s NEOD001 for AL amyloidosis, according to an analysis of its portfolio by Marten & Co. Having for some time last year been WPCT’s largest investment, […]
HBM boosts dividend by 20% after stellar year London-listed HBM Healthcare (HBMN) has proposed a CHF 7/share dividend for year to end April, a 20% rise, after a strong year in which it saw a 11% rise in NAV and 34% rise in share price, beating the broadest biotech index and all other sector specialist […]
Prothena drags WPCT to bottom of performance league table in April The fall in the value of its large investment in Prothena on negative results from two late-stage trials last month had a predictable effect on Woodford Patient Capital (WPCT)’s performance among the biotech-specialist closed end funds this year, although its relative underperformance extends over […]
HBM set to gain on Lilly buyout of investee Armo Swiss-listed HBM Healthcare (HBMN) looks set to see a significant boost to its already strong investment performance this year as a result of a deal that will see Eli Lilly buy one of its investee companies, the US biotech ARMO Biosciences. Lilly’s agreed deal to […]
Puretech digital health venture raises $55m LSE-listed healthcare venture firm Puretech Health (PRTC)’s digital health offshoot, Akili Interactive, has raised $55m in a series C financing. The move comes ahead of its planned FDA filing for a tablet-based video game for the treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This product, AKL-T01, would – if approved – become one […]
Syncona to benefit from Blue Earth value gain UK hybrid biotech investor/fund-of-funds Syncona (SYNC) should be able to take a c£64m increase in the value of its shareholding in Blue Earth Diagnostics this month, after the company was revalued on the back of an licensing agreement. The value of Syncona’s 90% holding in the diagnostics company will rise from £123.1m […]
BBH and IBT set to reap rewards on Shire stake London-listed BB Healthcare (BBH) and International Biotech Trust (BIOG) are likely to be the main investment trust beneficiaries of the proposed takeover of Shire Pharmaceuticals by Japan’s Takeda, which was agreed – subject to a number of conditions – last week. Shire’s board agreed to recommend […]
BioPharma Credit leads new $315m loan to Sebela BioPharma Credit (BPCR), the LSE-listed specialist life sciences debt investor, is to act as lead investor and collateral agent for a US$315m term loan to Sebela Pharmaceuticals, a US privately-held commercial-stage speciality pharmaceutical company focused on gastrointestinal, dermatology and women’s healthcare. BioPharma Credit will provide $194m of the loan principal […]
Trust stalwart Regeneron cuts Praluent price Investment trust stalwart Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: REGN) and its partner Sanofi yesterday announced a deal with Express Scripts, under which they will substantially lower the net price of Praluent in exchange for exclusive coverage on the US pharmacy benefit manager’s national formulary. The move deals a blow to rival Amgen, […]
IBT tops up Shire and Celgene in March SV Health-managed International Biotech Trust (IBT) recorded a 3.2% fall in NAV in March, slightly under-performing the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index, which was down by 2.9% in sterling terms. The manager reported that the main positive contributors of NAV in the month were Shire Pharmaceuticals, Nektar Therapeutics and […]
OrbiMed-managed trusts benefit from Alexion’s rise Shares in trust favourite Alexion Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ALXN) put on 12% last week on the back of a strong financial first quarter with upgraded guidance and positive top-line results from a phase III study of ALXN1210, the company’s longer-acting follow-up to its blockbuster Soliris in the ultra-rate disease of […]
Prothena blow-up leaves Woodford Patient Capital reeling Neil Woodford’s controversial and high-profile investment in Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) and its development programme for AL Amyloidosis has failed, costing the Woodford Patient Capital Investment Trust (WPCT) an estimated £50m based on the average $40/share acquisition cost of its large shareholding. Prothena’s US-listed stock has fallen by 68% this […]
WPCT investors nervously await key Prothena data readout Investors in Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT) should watch for a key data readout from US-listed but Ireland-based Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) expected anytime in the next few weeks, which could potentially add up to 5% to the value of the trust in event of a positive result but reduce […]
WWH’s hedging of Merck-BMS data comp backfires Worldwide Healthcare Trust’s (WWH) apparent attempt to hedge its bet on the outcome of the three trials of anti-pd(L)-1 checkpoint inhibitors in first-line treatment of non-small cell lung cancer that were reported simultaneously yesterday appears to have backfired, after the stock market determined the data justified an asymmetric response. […]
BG-backed Orchard buys GSK rare disease portfolio Baillie Gifford-backed gene therapy company Orchard Therapeutics has acquired GlaxoSmithKline’s portfolio of investigational and approved rare disease gene therapies in exchange for a 19.9% equity stake as well as undisclosed milestones and royalties on sales. The acquired product portfolio includes Strimvelis, GSK’s EU-approved gene therapy for children with adenosine deaminase severe […]
Worldwide Health offers a way to play AACR lung data reveal London-listed Worldwide Healthcare Trust (WWH) could be best way for trust investors to obtain exposure to what is likely to be the most important clinical data disclosure involving large cap pharmaceutical companies this year. This is set to occur next Monday (16 April) at the American Association […]
Syncona sees slight dip in NAV as Nightstar declines UK hybrid biotech investor/fund-of-funds Syncona (SYNC) saw a 0.8% fall in its NAV in February according to its latest factsheet, principally as a result of an 8% decline in the value of its holding in US-listed Nightstar Therapeutics. Syncona holds a 42% stake in this Nasdaq-quoted, but UK […]
WPCT gets surprise boost up trust leaguetable from Prothena deal An unexpected recovery in Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT)’s share price last month on the back of the collaboration signed between investee Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) and Celgene (NASDAQ:CELG), has made the struggling investment trust the surprise top performer among the sector specialist funds in March, albeit amid […]
HBM Healthcare to benefit from Homology Medicines IPO Swiss-listed HBM Healthcare (HBMN) is set to receive a modest boost to its NAV following the US initial public offering last week of Homology Medicines (Nasdaq: FIXX), a US gene editing/gene therapy company developing treatments for rare disease. Homology raised a total of $165.6m from an offering of 10.35m shares at $16.00 […]
Trust favourite Alnylam sees shares tank on competitor success US RNAi therapeutic specialist Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:ALNY) has seen its shares fall by 22% over the long Easter weekend, principally on news of a surprise positive clinical trial result for a potential competitor to its lead product patisiran, which has been developed initially for hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis […]
BB Healthcare to benefit from possible Shire takeover London-listed BB Healthcare Trust (BBH) looks likely to be the main investment trust beneficiary of a potential takeover offer for Shire Pharmaceuticals, which may come about after Takeda released a statement suggesting it was evaluating such a move. Shire, which originated in the UK but is now Irish domiciled and […]
Polar Capital swaps Merck for Lilly – Polar Capital Global Healthcare (PCGH) acquired a large holding, representing ~3% of its NAV, in US pharmaceutical giant Lilly in January, at the same time selling its entire holding in Merck & Co, according to an analysis by Marten & Co. Lilly appears in 14th position by size as […]
Worldwide Healthcare rejigs portfolio, adds BMS, Vertex stakes OrbiMed-managed Worldwide Healthcare Trust (WWH) has added new large shareholdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb and Vertex to its portfolio, displacing holdings in Intuitive Surgical and Cigna from its top 10, according to the trust’s latest factsheet. The changes follow the addition of a holding in Merck & Co in January, and […]
IBT takes profits on Nektar, buys Array SV Health-managed International Biotech Trust (IBT) saw a 2.2% fall in NAV in February, beating the 2.6% decline reported for the sterling-adjusted value of the benchmark Nasdaq biotechnology index by a small margin, one of only a handful of sector specialist trusts to do so. The main positive […]
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