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

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 for more information.

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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.

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