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.
Greencoat Renewables (GRP) reported final results for the year to 31 December 2020, with key highlights from the year including the following: 2020 Generation increased by 22% to 1,404GWh, 3 per cent below budget. (2019: 1,154GWh) 2020 Net cash generation increased by 36% to €66.4 million (2019: €48.7million) Dividend cover for 2020 of 1.7x Increased the portfolio […]
Syncona backs Quell financing – Syncona Ltd has made a new £25.3m commitment to a £61.0m expanded Series A financing for Quell Therapeutics. This is the largest amount of funding to date for any stand-alone engineered T regulatory cell (Treg) company [see below] and takes Syncona’s total commitment to this business to £59.3m (of which £35.1m […]
Achilles Therapeutics, a Syncona portfolio company, has announced that an Independent Data and Safety Monitoring Committee (IDSMC) has completed its first review of the ongoing, first-in-human Phase I/II CHIRON and THETIS trials and has recommended that both clinical trials continue as planned. Achilles Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing precision T cell therapies to […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 – […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
