BB Biotech is managed by Bellevue Asset Management, a Swiss-based asset manager specialising in healthcare investments. BB Biotech offers investors access to the dynamic biotechnology sector, aiming for long-term capital growth by investing in cutting-edge companies developing transformative therapies.
The company’s long-serving head, Dr Daniel Koller, will retire at the end of 2024. He will be replaced by Dr Christian Koch, one of the company’s two deputy heads. Dr Koch is a highly experienced portfolio manager who has worked at Bellevue since 2014.
1. BB Biotech provides investors with access to an exciting, rapidly growing industry
The biotechnology industry is a hub of innovation, addressing urgent unmet medical needs with cutting-edge medical advances like gene therapies and AI-driven drug discovery. These technologies not only have the potential to improve the quality of life for many people (and in some cases save lives) but also to disrupt traditional healthcare practices.
In addition, healthcare spending continues to rise globally and demand for novel therapies is escalating. Biotech, therefore, provides investors with exposure to compelling investments with very significant growth potential, while also having a meaningful impact on the well-being of individuals.
2. BB Biotech is a leading investor in the biotech sector
With around CHF2.4bn in assets under management, BB Biotech is the largest biotech-focused investor among its investment company peers. The company boasts a 30-year legacy of identifying and backing high-impact biotech innovators. Its ability to spot potential winners early—such as its pre-IPO investment in Moderna—sets it apart.
The manager’s search for new investment opportunities is supported by the work of a team of three data scientists. This team is focused on using AI and big data to enhance BB Biotech’s investment process. To this end, the team has developed proprietary analytical systems to synthesise a broad range of data published by pharmaceutical companies and other sources, to monitor and analyse the global medical landscape and industry trends across the approximately 8,000 companies developing new drugs. This work gives BB Biotech’s manager greater insight into the investment universe and the opportunities on offer. It also helps assess risk associated with existing positions. The company’s manager believes these capabilities are unique among its European competitors, and among the global leaders in the field, giving it a valuable competitive advantage over its peers.
3. The company is focused on commercial-stage investments
BB Biotech targets a concentrated portfolio of 20–35 of the most promising biotech companies working in areas such as precision medicine, rare diseases, RNA therapeutics and other innovative fields. About two-thirds of the portfolio is held in five to eight larger stocks that already have products on the market and the remaining third is held in stocks with promising drug candidates in advanced stages of development. This approach reduces developmental risk while enhancing growth potential by aligning the portfolio with the industry’s most transformative trends.
4. The outlook for the biotech sector is bright
The biotech sector appears poised for significant growth. Lower interest rates in the US and other developed markets have renewed investor interest in the sector and look set to fuel a resurgence in mergers and acquisitions activity. Takeover activity is also likely to be supported by large pharmaceutical firms seeking acquisitions as one means of acquiring new products to replace drugs whose patents have expired. Many of BB Biotech’s portfolio holdings may benefit from such activity.
In addition, the company’s portfolio is showing positive fundamental progress. Several of its holdings achieved key milestones in 2024 and have performed well accordingly. Gains on the sale of a number of portfolio holdings have enabled new investments in faster-growing companies with promising drugs and pipeline assets. Many of BB Biotech’s holdings face important clinical milestones, regulatory approvals and new launches over the coming year. The manager is very confident about these developments and believes BB Biotech is on a clear path to attractive returns over 2025 and beyond.
Published 20 December 2024.
