REG - RTW Biotech Opp. - RTW Biotech Opportunities’ 5th Anniversary

RTW Biotech OpportunitiesAnnouncement

01/11/2024 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
https://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20241101:nRSA4682Ka&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 4682K  RTW Biotech Opportunities Ltd  01 November 2024

LEI: 549300Q7EXQQH6KF7Z84

01 November 2024

RTW Biotech Opportunities Ltd

RTW Biotech Opportunities' 5(th) Anniversary

RTW Biotech Opportunities Ltd (the "Company"), a London Stock Exchange-listed
investment company focused on identifying transformative assets with high
growth potential across the life sciences sector, today announces the passing
of its fifth anniversary since listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in
October 2019.

The strategy focuses on identifying and developing next generation therapies
that aim to significantly improve the lives of patients in areas such as
anti-obesity, oncology and pediatric medicine. The approach is driven by
applying deep scientific and commercial expertise with a long-term investment
horizon across the full (private and public) lifecycle.

Since admission, the Company has grown its NAV from $153.0m to $654.5m. The
key milestones on that journey include:

·      Market-beating and peer-leading performance: the Company's NAV
per share has delivered a return of +87.5% since launch in October 2019 (to 30
September 2024), marking it as the best performing biotech-focused listed
investment company on the London Stock Exchange in that time. This compares to
a +41.2% return for the Nasdaq Biotech Index and +17.7% for the Russell 2000
Biotech Index over the same period.

·      London IPO and subsequent move to the LSE's premium listing:
London was selected as the listing destination because of the benefits of the
listed investment company structure. It gives both flexibility and duration to
invest opportunistically across the full life cycle, avoiding the pitfalls and
structural constraints of venture-only or public-only vehicles. In August
2021, RTW Bio became one of the LSE's premium listings, a listing category
that requires companies to reach higher standards of regulation and corporate
governance. In 2022, RTW set up an office in London to be closer to the
listing, shareholders and investment opportunities in the UK.

·      Prometheus Biosciences acquisition shows value of full life cycle
approach: In April 2023, Prometheus, a clinical-stage biotechnology company
pioneering treatment of immune-mediated diseases, was acquired by Merck for
$10.8 billion. The investment was a great example of the value of full life
cycle investing. RTW Bio co-led Prometheus' crossover financing round in 2020,
supported it through its IPO in 2021 and then ultimately its sale, generating
a more than 12x total multiple on invested capital (MOIC) in just over three
years. The Company subsequently announced a capital allocation to plan for the
proceeds.

·      Arix transaction added scale and capital to best-in-class
platform: In November 2023, RTW Bio announced plans to acquire Arix Bioscience
Plc, a venture capital company focused on investing in breakthrough
biotechnology companies. Completed in February 2024, the transaction made RTW
Bio one of the largest biotech-focused listed investment companies trading on
the LSE and provided additional capital at an opportune time in the biotech
market cycle.

·      Private companies going public or being acquired: Since
admission to 30 September 2024, the Company made 65 private investments.
Thirty of these have since experienced liquidity events (i.e. go-public or
acquisition). The average holding period as a private investment was twelve
months and the average MOIC to the liquidity event was 1.9x. This despite a
very muted IPO market for most of the last three years. It is important to
note that, being a full life cycle investor, we view the IPO as a another
funding round and a public mark rather than an exit opportunity, but it is a
nice start to an investment, especially when one considers the other
advantages of investing in the private rounds, most particularly, getting
closer to the science to build conviction.

Rod Wong, Founder and CIO of RTW Investments, LP commented: "We are delighted
to mark RTW Bio's 5th Anniversary with market beating and peer leading
performance in that time. This despite most of the last three years seeing the
sector experience its second worst bear market in history. Encouragingly, the
backdrop is now improving considerably and we believe that we are in the early
innings of a strong recovery. Medical science innovation has never been better
and the FDA appears willing to support it. Financing and M&A activities
are picking up, and valuations are attractive. With interest rates now looking
like they may act as a tailwind rather than a headwind; we are optimistic
about the next five years."

Woody Stileman, Managing Director, RTW Investments, LP said: "We are extremely
proud of what we have achieved in the last five years both from an impact and
return perspective. Through good performance and the Arix transaction, we are
now one of the largest biotech-focused listed investment companies on the LSE.
Over the next five years, we hope to continue what we have started, using the
flexibility and duration of the listed investment company structure to help
companies bring innovative medicies and therapies to patients in need spanning
obesity, oncology, immunology, rare diseases and more."

William Simpson, Chair of the Board of the Company commented, "I am
particularly pleased with performance over the last five years and look
forward with confidence to the next five. We enter this period with
significant assets under management, increasing public interest in what we do
and the skilled support of our manager and other stakeholders. We anticipate
many more opportunities to further medical innovations which improve the lives
of patients and provide attractive returns to our investors."

 

  For Further Information

 RTW Investments, LP                                                        +44 20 7959 6361
 Woody Stileman, Managing Director, Business Development                    biotechopportunities@rtwfunds.com (mailto:biotechopportunities@rtwfunds.com)

 Krisha McCune, Director, Investor Relations

 Cadarn Capital (PR & Communications / Distribution & IR Partner)           +44 79 8418 4461
                                                                             Lucy@cadarncapital.com (mailto:Lucy@cadarncapital.com)

 Lucy Clark (PR)

                                                                            +44 73 6888 3211

 David Harris (Distribution)                                                david@cadarncapital.com

 Deutsche Numis (Joint Corporate Broker)                                    +44 20 7260 1000

 Freddie Barnfield

 Nathan Brown

 Euan Brown

 BofA Securities (Joint Corporate Broker)                                   +44 20 7628 1000

 Edward Peel

 Alex Penney

 Elysium Fund Management Limited                                             +44 14 8170 3100

 Joanna Duquemin Nicolle, Chief Executive Officer

 Sadie Morrison, Managing Director

 Morgan Stanley Fund Services USA LLC                                       +1 914 225 8885

 

About Biotech Opportunities Ltd:

RTW Biotech Opportunities Ltd (LSE: RTW) is an investment fund focused on
identifying transformative assets with high growth potential across the
biopharmaceutical and medical technology sectors. Driven by a long-term
approach to support innovative businesses, RTW Biotech Opportunities Ltd
invests in companies developing next-generation therapies and technologies
that can significantly improve patients' lives. RTW Biotech Opportunities Ltd
is managed by RTW Investments, LP, a leading healthcare-focused
entrepreneurial investment firm with deep scientific expertise and a strong
track record of supporting companies developing life-changing therapies.

Visit the website at www.rtwfunds.com/rtw-biotech-opportunities-ltd
(https://www.rtwfunds.com/rtw-biotech-opportunities-ltd/)  for more
information.

 

***********

The information in this announcement may include forward-looking statements,
which are based on the current expectations and projections about future
events, and in certain cases can be identified by the use of terms such as
"may", "will", "should", "expect", "anticipate", "project", "estimate",
"intend", "continue", "target", "believe" (or the negatives thereon) or other
variations thereon or comparable terminology. These forward-looking
statements, as well as those included in any related materials, are subject to
risks, uncertainties and assumptions about the Company and/or its underlying
investments, including, among other things, the development of the applicable
entity's business, trends in its operating industry, expected use of financing
proceeds and future capital expenditures and acquisitions. In light of these
risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the events in the forward-looking
statements may not occur.

The information contained in this announcement is given at the date of its
publication (unless otherwise marked). No reliance may be placed for any
purpose whatsoever on the information or opinions contained in this
announcement or on its completeness, accuracy or fairness.

***********

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  MSCWPGQAUUPCGCG