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.
WPCT should see benefit on Oxford Nanopore fundraising Neil Woodford-managed Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT) has finally generated something positive for its long suffering investors, with the fund likely to be able to take a roughly £8m fair value gain on its holding in Oxford Nanopore, following a new £100m fundraising by its UK-based investee […]
Trust favourite Alexion notches up a success with important ‘1210 clinical data Alexion (Nasdaq: ALXN) scored an important positive result in the first of two pivotal trials with ALXN1210 in paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), boosting its shares by around 8% earlier today. ALXN1210 is a long-acting follow-up molecule to Soliris, Alexion’s blockbuster drug for three […]
$300m C share issue planned for BioPharma Credit – BioPharma Credit has released its first annual results, covering the period from launch to 31 December 2017. The NAV at the end of the period was $1.0091, up from 98 cents immediately after launch. The original target was to pay a 4% dividend per annum. It declared interim […]
UK Life science VC investors cheer planned IPO of Autolus Three high-profile UK life science investors – Syncona (SYNC), Arix Bioscience (ARIX) and Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT) – could benefit from the possible US IPO of the engineered T-cell therapy company, Autolus, following that company’s disclosure yesterday of a filing of a confidential draft F1 submission. All three investors hold […]
Swiss trusts top performers among bio sector specialists in Feb – Switzerland’s HBM Healthcare Investments (HBMN.S) and BB Biotech (BBB.S) were the best performing biotech/pharma specialist investment trusts in February and indeed were the only ones of the 13 monitored by Marten & Co to have recorded any increase in NAV (in sterling terms) in the month. However, […]
Core trust holding Biogen hit by withdrawal of MS drug Core trust holding Biogen is seeing its stock come under further pressure as a result of a decision, announced today with its partner Abbvie, to withdraw for safety reasons the recently-launched multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment Zinbryta. The drug was launched in 2016 for third-line use in MS […]
Syncona records flat month for NAV in January with small share price rise UK hybrid biotech investor/fund-of-funds Syncona (SYNC) recorded an essentially flat month for NAV in January, with a small decline overall recorded for its three largest investments – presumably in part related to the weakening of the dollar – offset by a gain of an […]
Worldwide Health swaps out Lilly for Merck OrbiMed-managed Worldwide Healthcare Trust (WWH) appears to have boosted its shareholding Merck & Co at the expense of Eli Lilly over the last few weeks, according to its latest update (see factsheet). Merck, which was outside the trust’s top 10 holdings in December, now ranks as the trust’s largest investment […]
James Carthew: doctor your portfolio with a GP landlord Primary Healthcare Properties (PHP) last week announced results for the year to 31 December 2017. It is one of three listed funds investing in GP surgeries and other primary healthcare facilities in the UK and Ireland, the others being MedicX (MXF) and Assura (AGR). Most of […]
HBM investee ObsEva reports successful trail of IVF drug HBM Healthcare Investments (HBMN.S) investee ObsEva (Nasdaq: OBSV) has reported positive results in the Implant2 phase III trial of nolasiban, an oxytocin receptor antagonist, for improving pregnancy rates associated with in-vitro fertilisation (IVF). ObsEva is currently HMB Healthcare’s tenth largest holding, accounting for 2.3% of its […]
Core trust holding Gilead gets the zinc finger Gilead Sciences took another major step in its strategy to dominate the burgeoning field of cell therapy for cancer yesterday, with a deal to secure exclusive access to Sangamo’s zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) gene editing technology for use in this field. The deal, in which Gilead paid […]
WPCT sees small decline in Jan NAV but greater share price fall Struggling Neil Woodford-managed Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT) reported a small, ~0.6% decline in NAV in January, but has since seen a larger 11% decline in share price this month as investors have become increasingly concerned about its poor long-term performance and outlook. The decline […]
HBM Healthcare reaps $28m profit on sale of TandemLife stake Swiss-listed HBM Healthcare Investments (HBMN.S) should realise an profit of at least $27.6m on the sale of its holding in the med-tech company TandemLife, as a result of the company’s acquisition by Livanova. HBM Healthcare holds a 16.6% stake in TandemLife, which is carried on […]
Trust favourite Biogen hit by AD trial rejig – Shares in Biogen, the neurology-focused US biotech giant and a key holding for many of the sector specialist investment trusts, fell by more than 6% yesterday on heightened concerns over a decision to expand patient enrolment in its two large Phase III trials of aducanumab for […]
BBH’s first annual report delivers positive news- BBH has announced results for the year ended 30 November 2017, over the period the total return was 19.3%, an outperformance of 4.9% versus the benchmark (the MSCI World Healthcare Total Return Index in GBP). The total return for shareholders was 20.5%. Total dividends for the year were 3.5p. For the […]
IBT key beneficiary of massive BMS-Nektar deal – International Biotech Trust (IBT) looks set to be the main investment trust beneficiary of the massive deal signed today between Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) and Nektar Therapeutics covering what had hitherto been – albeit briefly – the industry’s hottest un-partnered cancer drug, NKTR-214. Nektar is the third largest shareholding for […]
Key trust holding Vertex gains US approval for new CF combo Vertex Pharmaceuticals, a leading US biotech specialising in cystic fibrosis (CF) and core holding for most of the sector’s collective investment vehicles, yesterday reported the US FDA approval of Symdeko, its new combination containing tezacaftor/ivacaftor for CF in patients aged 12 and over who are […]
Baillie Gifford-backed Denali secures Takeda as partner Baillie Gifford-backed US-biotech Denali Therapeutics has secured its first corporate out-licensing deal, just weeks after completing its Nasdaq IPO. Denali, which features in the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust SMT portfolio, has signed a development deal with Takada covering three programmes for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and other neuro-degenerative diseases. […]
Biotech bellwether Celgene to report key update next week Investors in the main sector specialist investment trusts should watch for an important update from Celgene early next week at the annual JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, the largest and most important investor event in the sector. The US biotech group is expected to “pre-announce” Q4 sales […]
Baillie Gifford co-leads $110m financing deal for gene therapy developer Orchard Therapeutics Edinburgh-based fund manager Baillie Gifford is continuing its foray into biotech investing, by co-leading a large $110m (£85m) Series B venture deal for Orchard Therapeutics, a Anglo-US company working on gene therapies for rare disorders. The specific Baillie Gifford-managed funds that have provided the […]
Prothena drag on Woodford Patient Capital A 45% fall in the value of its large shareholding in Prothena since the end of the third quarter seems to have been the main factor behind a decline in the value of Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT) over the same period, according to the trust’s latest monthly update. WPCT’s shares have […]
Post IPO fall for Nightstar hits Syncona A fall in the post IPO share price of Nasdaq-listed, UK-based gene therapy specialist Nightstar Therapeutics marred an otherwise strong performance for UK biotech investment trust Syncona (SYNC) in November, whose NAV dipped by 4% in the month, according to its latest monthly update. Syncona’s 42% ownership of Nightstar […]
Polar Capital Global Healthcare reflects on year of transition – Polar Capital Global Healthcare, announcing its results for the year ended 30 September 2017, says that its NAV total return for the year amounted to 0.6% compared to a rise in the benchmark (the MSCI Global Healthcare Index) of 8.6%. Meanwhile their share price total […]
HBM Healthcare sees healthy NAV rise but remains at a deep discount Swiss-listed HBM Healthcare Investments (HBMN.S) recorded an impressive 23% rise in NAV and saw a 36% gain in its share price in the 11 months to end November, according to its latest monthly update. However, the trust’s shares currently trade at an 18.5% discount to […]
Worldwide Healthcare maintains strong run and moves to premium Despite seeing a relatively flat-to-down month in November, Worldwide Healthcare Trust (WWH) generated a 15% increase in NAV and 18% rise in its share price in the 11 month year-to-date period, comfortably beating the 9% rise in its benchmark index, according to its latest monthly factsheet. Moreover, the […]
US analysts target key Woodford Patient Capital investees The Neil Woodford-managed biotech/tech investment trust, Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT), is finding itself under increasing pressure, with analysts at two separate US firms calling into question its two largest investments, Prothena (15.6% of NAV at 30 September ) and Oxford Nanopore (8.9%). Ireland-based but Nasdaq-listed Prothena […]
Baillie Gifford-favourite Alnylam completes key US filing US biotech star and Baillie Gifford stock pick Alnylam Pharmaceuticals has completed its US regulatory application for patisiran, a treatment of adults with hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis (hATTR amyloidosis), putting the so-called RNA interference or “gene-silencing” therapeutic on track for approval in mid 2018. Patisiran may become Alnylam’s first […]
UK CAR-T firm Autolus provides update at ASH conference Autolus, which is a closely-watched chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy firm backed by three of the UK’s most prominent biotech investors, obtained an important validation of its technology recently with the publication of data on its dual targeting technology at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) conference over […]
Scottish Mortgage to benefit from Denali IPO – Baillie Gifford-managed Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust SMT looks set to receive a significant £85m windfall as a result of last week’s Nasdaq IPO of Denali Therapeutics, a US-based biotech in which it invested in 2016. Baillie Gifford was the lead investors in Denali’s $130m Series B financing round, investing […]
Gilead reassures with CAR-T therapy durability data – Leading US biotech and investment company favourite Gilead Sciences has reassured investors with an important clinical trial update for its high profile cancer therapy Yescarta, which was obtained via the $12bn purchase of Kite Pharmaceuticals earlier this year. Longer follow-up data from 108 advanced lymphoma patients treated with Yescarta […]
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