Biotech: The high stakes investment theme where expertise is everything

_{Disclosure – Non-Independent Marketing Communication}

_{This is a non-independent marketing communication commissioned by International Biotechnology Trust. The report has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and is not subject to any prohibition on the dealing ahead of the dissemination of investment research.}
 

We meet the team of doctors and medical scientists behind International Biotechnology Trust…

Biotechnology is a fast-changing and complex space. It is a sector in which cutting-edge scientific innovation pushes the boundaries in the treatment of disease, which has never been more important given the pandemic we are currently facing.

To invest successfully in this sector, you need both depth and breadth of knowledge.

The Investment Managers at International Biotechnology Trust (IBT) are leaders in their field. In fact, Kate Bingham is currently helping to shape the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic as chair of the UK Vaccine Taskforce.

Kate Bingham manages the part of IBT’s portfolio which invests in unquoted companies. Kate studied Biochemistry at Oxford and Business Administration at Harvard, and co-founded SV Health.

Experienced in the venture capital space, Kate has led SV Health in helping to fund discoveries of 196 new drugs.

The listed equities part of the £300m investment trust is headed up Dr Carl Harald Janson, once named by Bloomberg as the world’s best biotech fund manager.

A medical doctor by background, he has more than two decades of experience in healthcare and biotech investing. He has also held positions in pharmaceutical and biotech companies, e.g. working for industry giant Astra (now AstraZeneca).

Investment manager, Ailsa Craig is a biologist by background, with buy-side asset management experience gained at Barings and Rothschild who joined SV Health in 2006.

Marek Poszepczynski is a chemist by background who has also been involved with IPOs and licensing in the life sciences space for over 15 years. He has held management positions at several biotech firms, has founded his own businesses and now focuses on company valuations and M&A as an investment manager of IBT.
 

Broad knowledge and a singular focus

With eighty-five years’ experience between them, spanning biotech, healthcare, pharma, investing and finance, IBT’s investment management team have significant expertise.

Backing them is the strength and diversity within fund manager, SV Health, which has been a dedicated life science investor since 1993.

SV Health has more than 70 staff and consultants in its London and Boston offices, giving the firm geographic reach and access to broad expertise across the biotechnology and healthcare space.

SV Health boasts numerous partners who are doctors and scientists by training with specialisms which include Molecular Biology, Neurology, Cardiology, Immunoncology, Psychology, Genetics, Pharmacology, Biomolecular Engineering, Physiology, Neurodegeneration, Molecular Neurodevelopment.

In addition to this range of scientific skills, they also have industry and venture capital experience. IBT’s investment managers recognise the value of this resource, and call on the knowledge of this network when they need another perspective on different companies, drugs and diseases.
 

Speaking the language

A key part of the fund managers’ research process at IBT is meeting and speaking to senior company executives in biotech firms.

An extensive scientific background is essential to understanding the nuances of what is said in these meetings, and how that impacts the investment case for a stock. It also means the fund managers can understand, in forensic detail, how clinical trials work and how to interpret their data.

They need to know the mechanisms of particular drugs to assess which are likely to succeed and become worthwhile investments. More broadly, this expertise is crucial to assessing the wider landscape of the biotech industry.

This includes competition in the sector, the M&A environment, and the way regulation affects how each drug goes from the lab into clinical development and finally to patients.

The investment team speaks the same language as the industry in which they invest, and this is what makes them successful investors in such a specialised sphere.

This approach should continue to support the performance of International Biotechnology Trust, as the sector moves forward and innovation continues to accelerate.

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