Understanding one of the fastest-growing asset classes

Central nervous system (CNS) conditions are among the most significant unmet medical needs globally, with neurological conditions now one of the leading causes of disabilities, and having an impact on over 3.4 billion people worldwide. After decades of limited progress, the CNS field is experiencing a renaissance marked by novel technological advances that are overcoming barriers to effective drug development. Sophisticated blood-brain barrier crossing technologies are finally solving the fundamental delivery challenge, while AI-powered platforms are making unprecedented advances in drug discovery and biomarker identification. Most critically, the development of blood-based biomarkers is enabling early diagnosis and precision patient monitoring, addressing key issues that have historically limited CNS therapeutic success rates.

IP Group hosted a capital markets day on 26 June 2025, which included presentations on the group’s investment strategy, pipeline, major themes and portfolio companies.

Sometimes it is worth taking a step back. That way, it is possible to gain perspectives that are not necessarily clear when you are down in the weeds. But the process of stepping back does not always lead to the same viewpoint. This thematic piece takes some fairly basic questions about the role of advertising and the transformation of the advertising market and appraises them from different standpoints: the agency, the publisher, the platform and the brand. We have done this in the form of short video interviews with relevant individuals from some of the key quoted companies in the sector. As might be expected, there is plenty of commonality in responses, and the divergencies of opinion mostly reflect the perspectives, rather than anything more fundamental, but are interesting, nonetheless. As the landscape shifts further and faster, investors need to keep asking whether the ecosystem is fit for purpose and check in on what that purpose is.