RTW Biotech Annual Report and Audited Consolidated Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024
Press Release
By:
Ref: London Stock Exchange
Published: 03/31/2025
Significant progress made with near-term catalysts
RTW Biotech Opportunities Ltd (the "Group", "RTW Bio" or the "Company"), the London Stock Exchange-listed investment company focused on identifying transformative assets with high growth potential across the life sciences sector, is pleased to announce its Annual Results for the year ended 31 December 2024.
Roderick Wong, MD, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of RTW Investments LP (the "Investment Manager") commented:
"We are pleased with the progress made by the Group during 2024 with a number of material milestones achieved, both at portfolio and company level. During the year, the NAV increased from US$399 million to US$607 million, we added 21 new core portfolio companies, saw five capital markets events and marked our fifth anniversary since listing on the London Stock Exchange. In that time, we have delivered NAV per share growth of +86.3%, materially ahead of both the Nasdaq Biotech and Russell 2000 Biotech indices, which achieved +34.6% and +6.5%, respectively.
"During this active period, Kyverna, Artiva and BioAge completed successful IPOs whilst Lenz went public through a reverse merger. The average gross multiple of invested capital on our initial investments in these companies to the go-public event was approximately 1.3x. In addition, Numab sold its lead drug candidate to Johnson & Johnson for US$1.25 billion in July. Our holding value of this investment was increased by 2.6x as of year end to reflect the deal.
"The standout performers for the period were Avidity Biosciences and Tarsus Pharmaceuticals. Avidity's share price increased by +221% in 2024 following the announcement of positive long-term data showing reversal of disease progression in people living with myotonic dystrophy type 1, a condition for which there is no current cure and leads to muscle weakness over time. Tarsus also saw its share price rise materially in 2024 as its treatment for demodex infection, an ocular disease, continued to exceed consensus revenue expectations.
"The market environment for the biotech sector continues to show signs of improvement and whilst the sector's recovery is still in its infancy, there are a number of catalysts on the horizon that we expect will be rewarding both for shareholders and the patients that our products and therapies treat. Additionally, we are expecting the environment for M&A to improve dramatically, thanks to remarkable innovation, depressed sector valuations, impending patent cliffs for large pharma and a change in leadership at the FTC. This is an important factor for the small and mid-cap biotech companies we invest in as, in many cases, M&A is the endgame for these companies.
"We look ahead to 2025 with growing optimism and are excited by the prospects of the biotech sector. The Company is in a strong position to deliver on its targets with a number of near-term catalysts for its portfolio investments that we look forward to reporting on as the year progresses."
Key highlights
As of 31 December 2024, 67% of NAV was invested in core portfolio companies (2023: 67%), whilst 31% was invested in other public portfolio companies (2023: 20%) and 2% was held in cash plus current assets and liabilities (2023: 13%).
Financial summary:
(i) Total shareholder return is an alternative performance measure. Share price at 31 December 2023 was $1.403 and as at 31 December 2024 was $1.395.
(ii) Source: Capital IQ.
Core Portfolio:
● 21 new core portfolio companies added: As at 31 December 2024, 67% of NAV was invested in core portfolio companies, in-line with 2023. 21 new core portfolio companies were added over the year whilst three were exited. New core portfolio companies include ten new privates, one RTW-incubated company, six positions acquired from Arix Bioscience and four that were previously classified as "other public".
● Focus on clinical programmes and commercial products: 30 out of 54 core portfolio companies have clinical programmes, eight have commercial products and 13 are pre-clinical.
Core Public:
● Overall NAV performance driven by core public positions: 19 out of 54 core portfolio companies are public (34% of NAV) and performance was driven by Avidity Biosciences, the Group's second largest portfolio holding, and Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, the Group's third largest portfolio holding. The change in exposure and number of investments mostly reflects underlying performance, the graduation of Kyverna, Artiva, BioAge and Lenz to the public markets and the addition of Akero, Urogen, 89Bio and Merus.
● Avidity Biosciences: In March, Avidity Biosciences announced positive long-term data showing reversal of disease progression in people living with myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1), across multiple endpoints. Having been impressed by Avidity's initial patient data, the FDA supported using hand opening time, a sensitive and early marker of change, as the primary endpoint for a Phase 3 trial. RTW co-led an oversubscribed US$400m private placement in March, where the Group added to its position.
● Tarsus Pharmaceuticals: Tarsus' share price rose materially (+173%) in 2024 as its treatment for demodex infection, Xdemvy, continued to exceed consensus revenue expectations.
Core Private:
● Core private made a small contribution, led by Numab: 33 out of 54 core portfolio companies are private (30% of NAV). During the year, Numab sold its lead drug candidate to J&J for US$1.25bn and the Company's holding value was increased by 2.6x to reflect the deal, which closed in July. Kyverna, BioAge and Artiva completed IPOs whilst Lenz went public through a reverse merger. The average gross multiple of invested capital (MOIC) on our initial investments in these companies to the go-public event was approximately 1.3x. The increase in exposure and number of investments in the reporting period reflects the addition of several new private positions from Arix (Ensoma, Evommune, Depixus, Sorriso and Amplyx), less the exit activity described above for Kyverna, BioAge, Artiva and Lenz.
● 2024 was a strong and auspicious year for Corxel: The RTW Investments-founded company changed its name from Ji Xing Pharmaceuticals to reflect an expanding portfolio of global assets. During the year, it was announced that Bayer AG invested in Corxel's Series D financing and a new strategic collaboration between the two companies was launched, focused on cardiovascular diseases in China. In December, after successfully completing its Phase 3 trial, Corxel sold its China Aficamten rights to Sanofi. The asset sale recognised the value created by the team and made it possible to in-license ex-China rights to CX11, an oral small molecule GLP-1 for obesity. In a China Phase 2 trial, CX11 showed competitive weight loss with Lilly's Orforglipron, the leading small molecule in development.
● 69 core private investments since admission: As of 31 December 2024, thirty-one of these have since experienced liquidity events (i.e. by going public or through acquisition). Since admission, the average holding period as a private company was fourteen months and the average MOIC to the liquidity event was 1.8x. Sixteen of these positions have either concurrently or subsequently been exited in full at an average MOIC of 2.8x.
Royalty and Other Public:
● The Group's two royalty positions (3% of NAV) made a solid +2.4% contribution in 2024: The Group's investment in the Investment Manager's 4010 Royalty Fund performed well. 4010 currently holds two investments with Avadel Pharmaceuticals and Urogen Pharma (which is also the underlying asset of RTW Royalty 2). In the third quarter, 4010 sold its Allurion royalty at a small profit including royalties received to date, allowing us to redeploy the capital into more attractive risk-reward opportunities.
● Avadel: This royalty agreement is associated with the sales of Lumryz, the sole extended-release sodium oxybate medication approved by the FDA as a once-at-bedtime treatment for cataplexy or excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) in adults with narcolepsy. Lumryz's sales ramp is significantly outperforming 4010's underwriting target.
● Urogen: The Urogen royalty is connected to two oncology franchises: Jelmyto and UGN-102, both of which are topical therapies in the urinary tract for urothelial and bladder cancers, typically treated by surgical interventions. The majority of the royalty returns are derived from Jelmyto, which is an established and growing product. UGN-102 is nearing FDA approval with Phase 3 data, and we expect it to be approved in June 2025.
● 31% of the Group's NAV is invested in "other publicly" listed companies: The 50 "other public" holdings are carefully selected, mostly matching, on a pro-rata basis, the long investments held in the Investment Manager's private funds.
Post Period-End Events
● In January, Kailera announced positive topline data from the 8 mg dose of Hengrui Pharmaceuticals' Phase 2 clinical trial (HRS9531-203) of HRS9531, a GLP-1/GIP receptor dual agonist, in individuals living with obesity or overweight. The clinical trial results showed that a once-weekly subcutaneous injection demonstrated a statistically significant placebo-adjusted mean weight loss, with no plateau. Additionally, 59% of treated participants achieved a weight loss greater than 20%. The trial results also demonstrated a favourable safety profile. These results increase our confidence that Kailera is one of the leading players in next-generation obesity management and bode well for Kailera's planned global Phase 3 trial.
● Also in January, Akero (Nasdaq: AKRO) released preliminary topline results from its Phase 2b study evaluating the efficacy and safety of its lead product candidate, efruxifermin (EFX), in patients with compensated cirrhosis due to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis MASH. Treated patients demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in fibrosis with no worsening of MASH, representing a 24% effect size over placebo at 15%. Upon the news, shares in Akero, a 5.2% position at year end, rose 100%.
● Cargo Therapeutics announced it would seek a reverse merger: After halting work on its lead candidate following a failed Phase 2 study, Cargo announced that it would discontinue its entire R&D pipeline, lay off most of its staff and seek a reverse merger or other business combination.Beta Bionics went public on 30 January: it issued 12 million shares of common stock at $17.00 each, raising proceeds of US$204 million. The shares now trade on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol "BBNX".
Other Company highlights:
● The Investment Manager continues to demonstrate its commitment to and alignment with the Group: RTW Investments' CIO, Rod Wong, bought 19,949,441 shares in 2024, increasing his stake to 14.8% at the period end. On 26 February 2025, Rod further increased his stake to 15.0%, bringing his total holding to 50,356,880 shares.
● Specialist non-executive director appointed: The increased scale of the Company following strong performance and the Arix transaction allowed us to appoint a new Non-Executive Director, Baroness Nicola Blackwood, a leader in science and entrepreneurship. She is a member of the House of Lords, and Chair of Genomics England and Oxford University Innovation. She is also a board member of the biotechnology company, BioNTech.
Enquiries:
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.
RTW Biotech Opportunities at a Glance
Our Purpose: Transforming the lives of millions
RTW Bio's long-term strategy is anchored in identifying sources of transformational innovations with significant commercial potential by engaging in deep scientific research and a rigorous idea generation process, which is complemented by years of investment, company building, and both transactional and legal expertise.
What we do goes beyond short term financial gain
We invest for the long term, powering the next generation of breakthroughs in science and medicine to help transform lives. That's what drives us - the greater impact we can help create.
Our global reach
RTW Investments headquarters
RTW Investments global offices
Netherlands: Merus, Alesta
Germany, Spain, Switzerland and the Nordic countries: Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Numab
Ireland: GH Research
Israel: Urogen Pharma
China: Corxel, Nuance, Oricell
UK: Immunocore, Artios
THE US
We have a core focus on the US, with deep coverage of opportunities from academia to mid-size public companies. We apply a full range of deal execution and company building capabilities.
THE UK & EUROPE
We have identified and invested in exceptional British and European scientific assets. We look to contribute to these biotech ecosystems by engaging in creation or ongoing development of new companies around promising early-stage assets by partnering with universities and in-licensing academic programmes, and by providing financial and human capital to entrepreneurs to advance scientific programmes.
What this means for investors:
· access to cutting edge research labs and academic knowledge
· access to greater breadth of science and opportunity
· participation in value creation in local biotech ecosystems
CHINA
We are capturing commercialisation opportunities in China by investing across the venture capital life cycle: from new company formation to IPO, to bringing successful, innovative drugs to patients in China and across the globe.
What this means for investors:
· access to a budding biotech market, innovation and expertise
· an opportunity to be established in a market with the scope for significant growth
Members of the RTW Investments team
2024: 77
2023: 70
The RTW Investments culture
RTW Investments' priority is unlocking value by advancing early-stage scientific development to deliver innovative therapies to patients in need.
At the core of our business is a set of guiding principles.
COLLABORATION
Leveraging collective genius
PROGRESS
From research, to innovation, to reality
HUMILITY
The hunger to learn and improve
TENACITY
Finding pathways to success while overcoming obstacles
RIGOUR
Poring over the data
LEADERSHIP
The courage to shape a better future
The RTW Investments Difference
RTW Investments connects data, experience, and talent to bring opportunities into focus
We identify transformative assets with growth potential across the life sciences sector. Our approach is driven by deep scientific expertise with a long-term investment horizon.
RTW Investments' COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES
DEEP RESEARCH
We dive into the data to spot opportunities that others miss. Opportunities, potential, errors, and risks are all easily overlooked, so we analyse and scrutinise, applying a unique, repeatable research approach, fine-tuned over years of successful life sciences investment. We combine the best data, technology, and scientific insight to unearth opportunity.
SELECTIVITY
We cast a wide net, but only assets with high probability of becoming commercially viable products and those with the greatest potential to revolutionise treatment outcomes for patients pass the test. We choose partners who care less about quick wins and more about lasting change.
KNOWLEDGE
We are doctors, academics, and drug developers; venture capitalists and investment bankers; lawyers, data scientists and company operators. We work as a team, applying collective expertise to spark ideas, solve problems, avoid pitfalls, and build successful companies.
FLEXIBLE SOLUTIONS
Drug development rarely follows a linear path. Whatever the twists and turns, we have the skills in house to solve problems and accelerate progress, from providing capital and infrastructure to advance promising academic programmes, to forming new companies and taking those companies public. We carve new pathways, allowing scientists and entrepreneurs to bring life-changing therapies to patients.
PEOPLE
Healthcare innovation is hard work, and easy wins are few and far between. Those who succeed don't lose sight of why it matters. These are the people we love working with. We come from many different backgrounds but are united in a mission to improve people's lives.
LONG-TERM PARTNERS
Bringing new therapies to patients is a long journey that comes with both thrilling triumphs and inevitable setbacks. We are hands-on and fully invested in the success of our partners because their success is our success. We choose partners who are as passionate about revolutionising medicine as we are.
RTW Biotech Opportunities' Full Life Cycle portfolio has multiple, differentiated return levers and horizons
Investment Objective and Investment Policy
Applying deep scientific expertise with a long-term investment horizon
Investment Objective
The Group seeks to achieve positive absolute performance and superior long-term capital appreciation, with a focus on forming, building, and supporting world-class life sciences, biopharmaceutical and medical technology companies. It intends to create a diversified portfolio of investments across a range of businesses, each pursuing the development of superior pharmacological or medical therapeutic assets to enhance the quality of life and/or extend patient life.
Investment Policy
The Group seeks to achieve its investment objective by leveraging the Investment Manager's data-driven proprietary pipeline of innovative assets to invest in life sciences companies:
· across various geographies (globally);
· across various therapeutic categories and product types (including but not limited to genetic medicines, biologics, traditional modalities such as small molecule pharmaceuticals and antibodies, and medical devices);
· in both a passive and active capacity and intends, from time to time, to take a controlling or majority position with active involvement in a Portfolio Company to assist and influence its management. In those situations, it is expected that the Investment Manager's senior executives may serve in temporary executive capacities; and
· by participation in opportunities created by the Investment Manager's formation of companies de novo when a significant unmet need has been identified and the Group is able to build a differentiated, sustainable business to address said unmet need.
The Group expects to invest approximately 80 per cent of its gross assets in the biopharmaceutical sector and approximately 20 per cent of its gross assets in the medical technology sector.
The Group's portfolio will reflect its view of the most compelling opportunities available to the Investment Manager, with an initial investment in each privately held Portfolio Company ("Private Portfolio Company") expected to start in a low single digit per cent of the Group's gross assets and grow over time, as the Group may, if applicable, participate in follow-on investments and/or continue holding the Portfolio Company as it becomes publicly-traded. It is intended certain long-term holds will increase in size and may represent between five and ten per cent or greater of the Group's gross assets.
The Group anticipates deploying one-third of its capital designated for core private investments toward early-stage and de novo company formations (including newly formed entities around early-stage academic licenses and commercial stage corporate assets) and two-thirds of its capital in mid- to late-stage ventures.
The Company may choose to invest in Portfolio Companies listed on a public stock exchange ("Public Portfolio Companies") depending on market conditions and the availability of appropriate investment opportunities. Equally, as part of a full-life cycle investment approach, it is expected that Private Portfolio Companies may later become Public Portfolio Companies. Monetisation events such as IPOs and reverse mergers will not necessarily be taken as exit opportunities for the Group. Rather, the Group may decide to retain all or some of or add to its investment in such Portfolio Companies or the acquiring Company where they meet the standard of diligence set by the Investment Manager. The Group is not required to allocate a specific percentage of its assets to Private Portfolio Companies or Public Portfolio Companies.
The Group also intends, where appropriate, to invest further in its Portfolio Companies, supporting existing investments throughout their lifecycle. The Group may divest its interest in Portfolio Companies in part or in full when the risk-reward trade-off is deemed to be less favourable.
From time to time, the Group may seek opportunities to optimise investing conditions, and to allow for such circumstances, the Group will have the ability to hedge or enter into securities or derivative structures in order to enhance the risk-reward position of the portfolio and its underlying securities.
Investment restrictions
The Group will be subject to the following restrictions when making investments in accordance with its investment policy:
· the Group may not make an investment or a series of investments in a Portfolio Company that result in the Group's aggregate investment in such Portfolio Company exceeding 15 per cent (or, in the case of Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 25 per cent) of the Group's gross assets at the time of each such investment;
· the Group may not make any direct investment in any tobacco company and not knowingly make or continue to hold any Public Portfolio Company investments that would result in exposure to tobacco companies exceeding one per cent of the aggregate value of the Public Portfolio Companies from time to time.
Each of these investment restrictions will be calculated as at the time of investment. In the event that any of the above limits are breached at any point after the relevant investment has been made (for instance, upon successful realisation of economic and/or scientific milestones or as a result of any movements in the value of the Group's gross assets), there will be no requirement to sell or otherwise dispose of any investment (in whole or in part).
Leverage and borrowing limits
The Group may use conservative leverage in the future in order to enhance returns and maximise the growth of its portfolio, as well as for working capital purposes, up to a maximum of 50 per cent of the Group's net asset value at the time of incurrence. Any other decision to incur indebtedness may be taken by the Investment Manager for reasons and within such parameters as are approved by the Board. There are no limitations placed on indebtedness incurred in the Group's underlying investments.
Capital deployment
The Group anticipates that it will, upon any subsequent capital raises, invest up to 80% of available cash in Public Portfolio Companies that have been diligenced by the Investment Manager and represent holdings in other portfolios managed by the Investment Manager, subsequently rebalancing the portfolio between Public Portfolio Companies and Private Portfolio Companies as opportunities to invest in the latter become available.
Cash management
The Group's uninvested capital may be invested in cash instruments or bank deposits pending investment in Portfolio Companies or used for working capital purposes.
Hedging
As described above, the Group may seek opportunities to optimise investing conditions, and to allow for such circumstances, there will be no limitations placed on the Group's ability to hedge or enter into securities or derivative structures in order to enhance the risk-reward position of the portfolio and its underlying securities.
On an ongoing basis, the Group does not intend to enter into any securities or financially engineered products designed to hedge portfolio exposure or mitigate portfolio risk as a core part of its investment strategy but may enter into hedging transactions to hedge individual positions or reduce volatility related to specific risks such as fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, interest rates, and other market forces.
RTW Biotech Opportunities' 5th Anniversary
On 30th October 2024, RTW Biotech Opportunities Ltd celebrated its fifth anniversary since listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). From listing through to its fifth year, the Group grew its NAV from US$153.0m to US$650.6m and NAV per share by +86.3%. Along the way, several key milestones marked the journey:
· Market-beating and peer-leading performance: the Group's NAV per share return of +86.3% over the five years marked RTW Bio as the best performing biotech-focused listed investment company on a NAV per share basis on the London Stock Exchange in that time. This compared to a +37.7% return for the Nasdaq Biotech Index and +16.3% for the Russell 2000 Biotech Index over the same period.
· A 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 migrated from the Specialist Segment to the Premium Segment, which was subsequently consolidated into the Main Market in 2024. In 2022, the Investment Manager set up an office in London to be closer to the listing, shareholders and investment opportunities in the UK.
· Prometheus Biosciences acquisition shows the 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 US$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 ultimately its sale, generating a more than 12x total multiple on invested capital (MOIC) in just over three years.
· Arix transaction added scale and capital to a best-in-class platform: In November 2023, RTW Bio announced plans to acquire Arix Bioscience Plc ("Arix"), 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.
Chair's Statement
Investing in tomorrow's most promising medicines
We are delighted to have celebrated, on 30 October, the passing of our fifth anniversary since listing on the London Stock Exchange. In that time, the Group's NAV per share delivered a five-year return of +86.3% marking it as the best performing biotech-focused listed investment company on a NAV per share basis on the London Stock Exchange. This compared to a +37.7% return for the Nasdaq Biotech Index and +16.3% for the Russell 2000 Biotech Index over the same period. We are pleased to mark the fifth Anniversary this year with market-beating and peer-leading performance, despite most of the last three years experiencing the sector's second worst bear market in history. Encouragingly, the backdrop is now improving and we believe that we are still in the early innings of a recovery for the sector.
2024 Overview and 2025 Outlook
The Group's NAV returned -4.6% per Ordinary Share over the twelve months to 31 December 2024, slightly underperforming the Russell 2000 Biotechnology Index and the Nasdaq Biotech Index (NBI) which returned +2.5% and -1.4%, respectively. This is the first year that the Group's NAV per share has underperformed, but it remains markedly ahead of sector indices over three years, five years and since admission. Like many listed investment companies, particularly those with private exposure, the Company's share price has lagged NAV per share growth, although the discount narrowed modestly in 2024.
As always, there was plenty of activity in the portfolio to report. One of the benefits of having a full life cycle approach is that there are always opportunities and events including private financing rounds, go-public events, take-outs, clinical developments and royalty distributions.
There were four go-public events from core private positions in the first half: Kyverna, Lenz, Artiva and BioAge. The average step up from holding value to go-public in these four events was +9.7% and the average multiple on invested capital was 1.3x. There was one M&A deal involving Numab, a core private position, which sold its lead program to Johnson & Johnson for US$1.25bn. Being a private position meant that the impact on the Group was less than it might have been had it occurred after the company became public when we normally take bigger positions, but it led to a near 2.6x uplift from the holding value as at 31 December 2024. Combined, these transactions continue to underline the embedded value of the portfolio's private holdings and provide evidence of the robustness of the Group's valuation process. But despite continued successes here, the market appears to discount the private assets.
In the core public portfolio, two genetic medicine companies had the biggest impacts on NAV. Avidity Biosciences announced several positive clinical events for patients suffering from severe muscular diseases which in many cases have no approved drugs. Avidity's share price increased by 221% in 2024, making it a very rewarding investment from a shareholder perspective this year and from our original investment in their 2019 crossover round, since when it has returned a 4.5x multiple on invested capital. Should Avidity succeed through subsequent trials and regulatory approval, it will also be a very rewarding investment from a patient impact perspective too. Rocket Pharmaceuticals' share price struggled in 2024. With no clinical readouts on the calendar, the shares were buffeted by top-down factors whilst it also did not deliver on clinical and regulatory timelines for its two lead programs. Despite the volatility and setbacks, we continue to see value and transformational potential for patients suffering from horrendous diseases like Danon.
Since admission, the Group has made 69 private investments. Thirty-one of these have since experienced liquidity events (by going public or via acquisition). The average holding period as a private investment was fourteen months and the average MOIC to the liquidity event was 1.8x. This was 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 another funding round and a public mark, rather than an exit opportunity, but the step up to the IPO is a nice way to start a public investment especially when one considers the other advantages of investing in the private rounds, most particularly, getting closer to the science to build conviction.
The Group's royalty investments are performing well and provide a differentiated income stream that is uncorrelated to equity markets. The risk adjusted returns are very attractive and highly complementary to the rest of the portfolio. The ability to offer a full suite of financing solutions to companies helps position RTW Investments as one of the preferred capital providers in the space. Our exposure to royalties is expected to increase in the years ahead as the 4010 Royalty Fund, in which we are invested, draws down capital for new investments.
At the end of the period, the Group had fifty-four core portfolio holdings, a material increase from the start of the year as several new private and public positions were added on top of the new private positions from Arix. Opportunities are abundant and capital is valuable. The core portfolio represents 67.1% of NAV at year end. The "other public" portfolio (mostly matching the long listed names held in the Investment Manager's private funds, devised to mitigate the performance drag of setting aside cash for future deployment into core positions) makes up the remainder. It is important to note that this portion of the portfolio is also expected to generate solid returns through the cycle and is made up of similarly innovative but slightly larger, later stage biotech companies, many of which already have approved drugs.
The market environment for the biotech sector is improving and the opportunity set for stock picking is encouraging albeit the sector's recovery is still early. Changes in interest rate expectations are adding periods of volatility, but good data and good products are being rewarded. Medical science innovation has never been better, financing activity is robust and M&A looks set to rebound. President Trump's appointment for Secretary of Health and Human Services, RFK Jr, has added a little uncertainty but that should lift as it becomes clear that innovation is part of the solution in his pursuit of "making America healthy again".
With a growing pipeline of interesting opportunities at attractive valuations, our private investing activity has returned to normal after a couple of years when it was more optimal to focus on public market opportunities. All parts of our full life cycle portfolio are well positioned and competition for capital within the portfolio is intense.
RTW Bio continues to provide investors with exposure to the most innovative and exciting parts of the healthcare sector via a range of public, private and royalty investments. This full life cycle approach gives our shareholders access to a wide range of investment opportunities that would otherwise be hard to exploit, thus making the Group an attractive holding alongside passive, private equity fund or direct equity healthcare exposures. This proposition is most stark in next-generation obesity drugs, which are mostly still private at this point. With the addition to the portfolio of Kailera and the acquisition by Corxel (formerly known as JiXing) of CX11, RTW Bio is unique among listed investment companies for shareholders looking for meaningful exposure on the private side to this exciting area.
Corporate Developments
We are delighted to have completed the acquisition of Arix Bioscience Plc's assets and welcome new shareholders to our register. The combination added capital and scale to our best-in-class platform. RTW Bio is now one of the largest biotech investment companies quoted on the London Stock Exchange and the increased scale, liquidity and awareness has attracted several new potential buyers.
The increased scale that the Arix transaction has brought us has also allowed us to appoint a Senior Independent Director with considerable life sciences experience. Baroness Nicola Blackwood is a leader in science and entrepreneurship. She is a member of the House of Lords, and Chair of Genomics England and Oxford University Innovation. She is also Board Member of the biotechnology company, BioNTech. Nicola is also a member of the Oxford Harrington Rare Disease Centre Advisory Board and the Royal Society Science Policy Expert Advisory Committee. Nicola served as a Minister in the Department for Health and Social Care under two Prime Ministers. As Minister for Innovation, she led on Life Sciences, NHS Data and Digital Transformation, and Global Health Security. She was the first female Member of Parliament for Oxford and was elected by MPs of all parties as the first female Chair of the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee. She remains one of the youngest committee chairs in British history. We are delighted to welcome Nicola, believing that her contributions will help us further our mission to harness innovation in biotech to the advantage of patients and shareholders.
Capital Allocation
Around the time of the Arix closing, the Board increased the previously announced share buyback capacity to help manage any short-term changes in the shareholder base around the deal. In total, the Group bought back 8,500,000 shares in 2024 for a total consideration of US$11,340,306. Buybacks are considered through a capital allocation lens against multiple factors, most importantly, our core objective to deliver long-term capital growth. With this context it is important to recognise that our investments generally consume cash to progress through clinical trials or early commercialisation, so retaining capital and some liquidity is essential, especially in challenging market environments where opportunities are available to those who can provide a quantum of capital quickly. However, in recent times when the Group has received a significant cash inflow (i.e. the sale of Prometheus to Merck and the acquisition of Arix and its substantial cash position), we have returned a portion through NAV-accretive buybacks. As with Prometheus, in the event of cash realisations from public M&A in our portfolio, a proportion of the profits may be used to buy back shares. However, we strongly believe that now is a once-in-a-generation time to be making private and public investments in biotech, so we must balance short term discount considerations that are impacting the whole investment trust industry, and our healthcare peers within it, against very significant medium to long term capital growth potential.
Manager Commitment and Alignment
I am pleased to note the expansion of the Investment Manager's wider team in the UK in recent years, focussing amongst other things on servicing RTW Bio shareholders, and am particularly pleased to note the continued alignment of the Investment Manager with the Group. Since IPO, the Investment Manager has not sold any of its shares in the Company and key principals, including CIO Rod Wong, continue to increase their personal holdings. Last year Rod Wong bought 19,949,441 shares bringing his total shareholding to 49,643,313 (14.8% of ordinary shares in issue not held in treasury). Post period-end, he bought additional shares increasing his position to 15.0%. Furthermore, since admission the Investment Manager has only taken one distribution, in shares, from the Performance Allocation share class, increasing its investment in the Group. This further demonstrates both the value of the Group to the Investment Manager and its long-term commitment.
Looking Forward
Whilst 2024 was a challenging year for the biotech sector and UK investment companies, I am very pleased with the compelling long-term performance of RTW Bio and look forward with confidence to the next five years. 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.
2025 AGM
The Company will hold its Annual General Meeting on 9 June 2025 to review the annual results and provide portfolio updates. The meeting will take place at Royal Chambers, St Julian's Avenue, St Peter Port, Guernsey. We would like to dedicate a part of the meeting to address questions from shareholders. We encourage shareholders to submit questions at the following email, and we will endeavour to answer as many as we can: biotechopportunities@rtwfunds.com.
On behalf of the Board, I would like to express my gratitude for your continued support and wish you all the best for 2025.
William Simpson
Chair of the Board of Directors
RTW Biotech Opportunities Ltd
28 March 2025
Report of the Investment Manager
A full life cycle approach to investing in innovative healthcare companies
Financial Highlights, Performance Drivers and Significant Events
Since its listing on the London Stock Exchange on 30 October 2019, the Group has grown the NAV attributable to Ordinary Shareholders from US$168.0 million to US$606.9 million as of 31 December 2024. The NAV per Ordinary Share has grown +73.8% from US$1.04 to US$1.81 as of 31 December 2024. Disappointingly, the share price has not kept pace with the NAV, returning +34.1% in the same period, as the shares fell to a discount in early 2022 (as did many listed investment trusts) and have remained there since, despite strong NAV per Ordinary Share performance. In 2024, the NAV per Ordinary Share returned -4.6% while the share price returned -0.6%. With continued NAV outperformance versus the market and peers, in addition to an improving outlook for the biotech sector, we would expect the discount to narrow.
Table 1. Financial Highlights
(i) Total shareholder return is an alternative performance measure. Share price at 31 Dec 2023 was $1.403 and at 31 Dec 2024 was $1.395.
(ii) Source: Capital IQ
RTW Investments, LP, the "Investment Manager", a leading global healthcare-focused investment firm with a strong track record of supporting companies developing life-changing therapies, created the Group as an investment fund focused on identifying transformative assets with high growth potential across the biopharmaceutical and medical technology sectors. Driven by deep scientific expertise and a long-term approach to building and supporting innovative businesses, we invest in companies developing transformative next-generation therapies and technologies that can significantly improve patients' lives while creating significant value for our shareholders.
NAV performance in 2024 has been driven by the core public positions. This is how the portfolio is designed to function. As full life cycle investors, our belief is that the majority of value creation in biotech happens in the public market, however, it is valuable and important to position oneself and build conviction before an IPO. Our core public position Avidity is a case in point. We co-led the crossover round at the end of 2019 and supported the IPO in 2020. Since then, the company experienced some challenges until reporting great data from several of its programs in 2024. We had significantly increased our position in February 2024 by co-leading an oversubscribed US$400m private placement, proving the value of the Investment Manager's position as a preferred capital provider in the sector. The shares returned +221% over the course of 2024 giving rise to a +12.4% contribution to NAV. The other major contributor was Tarsus, which sits at the other end of the development life cycle, being a commercial stage company. Tarsus' share price rose materially in 2024 as its treatment for demodex infection, Xdemvy, continued to exceed consensus revenue expectations.
Rocket, Immunocore and Cargo were the largest detractors amongst the core public positions. After strong performance in 2023, Rocket's shares performed poorly in 2024. Rocket raised US$165m in a follow-on offering in December after a year in which it did not deliver on clinical and regulatory timelines for its two lead programs. Despite the setbacks, we think both the Danon and Fanconi anaemia programs continue to have transformative potential for patients. Immunocore reported melanoma data at ASCO showing a disappointing sub-20% response rate. It is important to note that both Rocket and Immunocore are multi-pipeline companies, so even if one asset disappoints there are other shots on goal. There was no material fundamental news during the year on Cargo, but with the next catalyst not forecast until 2025, the share price gave back much of the gains it made since its IPO in November 2023. Following period end, Cargo announced it was halting work on its lead candidate after a failed Phase 2 study, followed a couple months later by the discontinuation of its entire pipeline, and the announcement that it would lay off most of its staff and seek a reverse merger or other business combination.
The core private positions made a small contribution led by Numab. Kyverna, Artiva and BioAge Labs completed successful IPOs while Lenz went public through a reverse merger. The average gross multiple on invested capital (MOIC) on our initial investments in these four companies to the go-public event was approximately 1.3x. Numab sold its lead drug candidate to J&J for US$1.25bn. The company's holding value was increased by approximately 2.6x to reflect the deal, which closed in July.
2024 was an auspicious year for RTW Investments-founded Corxel, which changed its name from Ji Xing Pharmaceuticals during the year to reflect an expanding portfolio of global assets. Firstly, Ji Xing (as it was then called) announced that Bayer AG had invested in its Series D financing, whilst concurrently announcing a new strategic collaboration between the two companies focused on cardiovascular diseases in China. Later in the year, Corxel announced two significant transactions in December. First, after successfully completing its Phase 3 trial, Corxel sold its China Aficamten rights to Sanofi. The asset sale recognised the value created by the team and made it possible to in-license ex-China rights to CX11, an oral small molecule GLP-1 for obesity. In a China Phase 2 trial, CX11 showed competitive weight loss with Lilly's Orforglipron, the leading small molecule in development. We believe orals are one of the largest unmet needs in obesity and are excited for Corxel's transformation into a global cardiometabolic company.
The Group's royalty positions, representing ~3% of NAV, made a solid contribution this year, underlining the attractiveness of their uncorrelated, income-ori
RTW Biotech Opportunities Ltd (the "Group", "RTW Bio" or the "Company"), the London Stock Exchange-listed investment company focused on identifying transformative assets with high growth potential across the life sciences sector, is pleased to announce its Annual Results for the year ended 31 December 2024.
Roderick Wong, MD, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of RTW Investments LP (the "Investment Manager") commented:
"We are pleased with the progress made by the Group during 2024 with a number of material milestones achieved, both at portfolio and company level. During the year, the NAV increased from US$399 million to US$607 million, we added 21 new core portfolio companies, saw five capital markets events and marked our fifth anniversary since listing on the London Stock Exchange. In that time, we have delivered NAV per share growth of +86.3%, materially ahead of both the Nasdaq Biotech and Russell 2000 Biotech indices, which achieved +34.6% and +6.5%, respectively.
"During this active period, Kyverna, Artiva and BioAge completed successful IPOs whilst Lenz went public through a reverse merger. The average gross multiple of invested capital on our initial investments in these companies to the go-public event was approximately 1.3x. In addition, Numab sold its lead drug candidate to Johnson & Johnson for US$1.25 billion in July. Our holding value of this investment was increased by 2.6x as of year end to reflect the deal.
"The standout performers for the period were Avidity Biosciences and Tarsus Pharmaceuticals. Avidity's share price increased by +221% in 2024 following the announcement of positive long-term data showing reversal of disease progression in people living with myotonic dystrophy type 1, a condition for which there is no current cure and leads to muscle weakness over time. Tarsus also saw its share price rise materially in 2024 as its treatment for demodex infection, an ocular disease, continued to exceed consensus revenue expectations.
"The market environment for the biotech sector continues to show signs of improvement and whilst the sector's recovery is still in its infancy, there are a number of catalysts on the horizon that we expect will be rewarding both for shareholders and the patients that our products and therapies treat. Additionally, we are expecting the environment for M&A to improve dramatically, thanks to remarkable innovation, depressed sector valuations, impending patent cliffs for large pharma and a change in leadership at the FTC. This is an important factor for the small and mid-cap biotech companies we invest in as, in many cases, M&A is the endgame for these companies.
"We look ahead to 2025 with growing optimism and are excited by the prospects of the biotech sector. The Company is in a strong position to deliver on its targets with a number of near-term catalysts for its portfolio investments that we look forward to reporting on as the year progresses."
Key highlights
| • | Transformational merger: The combination with Arix Bioscience completed on 13 February 2024, delivered a material increase in scale and liquidity, plus the acquisition of six new portfolio positions. |
| • | Five significant capital markets events: In the year to 31 December 2024, the core portfolio saw three IPOs, one acquisition and one reverse merger. The exit environment is improving and we expect an acceleration in this area, particularly by way of M&A for our small and mid-cap positions. |
| • | Outperformance versus benchmarks: The Company celebrated its fifth anniversary since listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). From IPO to 31 December 2024, the NAV per Ordinary Share increased by +73.8%, materially outperforming both the Russell 2000 Biotech index (+7.4%) and the Nasdaq Biotech index (+27.6%). The NAV grew from US$153.0m at IPO to US$606.9m as at 31 December 2024. |
As of 31 December 2024, 67% of NAV was invested in core portfolio companies (2023: 67%), whilst 31% was invested in other public portfolio companies (2023: 20%) and 2% was held in cash plus current assets and liabilities (2023: 13%).
Financial summary:
| RTW Biotech Opportunities Ltd | FY24 (01/01/2024-31/12/2024) | FY23 (01/01/2023-31/12/2023) | Since IPO (30/10/2019-31/12/2024 | |
| Ordinary Share NAV - start of period | US$399.3 million | US$326.1 million | US$168.0 million | |
| Ordinary Share NAV - end of period | US$606.9 million | US$399.3 million | US$606.9 million | |
| NAV per Ordinary Share - start of period | US$1.90 | US$1.54 | US$1.04 | |
| NAV per Ordinary Share - end of period | US$1.81 | US$1.90 | US$1.81 | |
| NAV movement per Ordinary Share | -4.6% | +23.5% | +73.8% | |
| Price per Ordinary Share - start of period | US$1.40 | US$1.21 | US$1.04 | |
| Price per Ordinary Share - end of period | US$1.40 | US$1.40 | US$1.40 | |
| Share price return (i) | -0.6% | +16.0% | +34.1% | |
| Benchmark returns (ii) | ||||
| Russell 2000 Biotech | +2.5% | +10.6% | +7.4% | |
| Nasdaq Biotech | -1.4% | +3.7% | +27.6% | |
(ii) Source: Capital IQ.
Core Portfolio:
● 21 new core portfolio companies added: As at 31 December 2024, 67% of NAV was invested in core portfolio companies, in-line with 2023. 21 new core portfolio companies were added over the year whilst three were exited. New core portfolio companies include ten new privates, one RTW-incubated company, six positions acquired from Arix Bioscience and four that were previously classified as "other public".
● Focus on clinical programmes and commercial products: 30 out of 54 core portfolio companies have clinical programmes, eight have commercial products and 13 are pre-clinical.
Core Public:
● Overall NAV performance driven by core public positions: 19 out of 54 core portfolio companies are public (34% of NAV) and performance was driven by Avidity Biosciences, the Group's second largest portfolio holding, and Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, the Group's third largest portfolio holding. The change in exposure and number of investments mostly reflects underlying performance, the graduation of Kyverna, Artiva, BioAge and Lenz to the public markets and the addition of Akero, Urogen, 89Bio and Merus.
● Avidity Biosciences: In March, Avidity Biosciences announced positive long-term data showing reversal of disease progression in people living with myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1), across multiple endpoints. Having been impressed by Avidity's initial patient data, the FDA supported using hand opening time, a sensitive and early marker of change, as the primary endpoint for a Phase 3 trial. RTW co-led an oversubscribed US$400m private placement in March, where the Group added to its position.
● Tarsus Pharmaceuticals: Tarsus' share price rose materially (+173%) in 2024 as its treatment for demodex infection, Xdemvy, continued to exceed consensus revenue expectations.
Core Private:
● Core private made a small contribution, led by Numab: 33 out of 54 core portfolio companies are private (30% of NAV). During the year, Numab sold its lead drug candidate to J&J for US$1.25bn and the Company's holding value was increased by 2.6x to reflect the deal, which closed in July. Kyverna, BioAge and Artiva completed IPOs whilst Lenz went public through a reverse merger. The average gross multiple of invested capital (MOIC) on our initial investments in these companies to the go-public event was approximately 1.3x. The increase in exposure and number of investments in the reporting period reflects the addition of several new private positions from Arix (Ensoma, Evommune, Depixus, Sorriso and Amplyx), less the exit activity described above for Kyverna, BioAge, Artiva and Lenz.
● 2024 was a strong and auspicious year for Corxel: The RTW Investments-founded company changed its name from Ji Xing Pharmaceuticals to reflect an expanding portfolio of global assets. During the year, it was announced that Bayer AG invested in Corxel's Series D financing and a new strategic collaboration between the two companies was launched, focused on cardiovascular diseases in China. In December, after successfully completing its Phase 3 trial, Corxel sold its China Aficamten rights to Sanofi. The asset sale recognised the value created by the team and made it possible to in-license ex-China rights to CX11, an oral small molecule GLP-1 for obesity. In a China Phase 2 trial, CX11 showed competitive weight loss with Lilly's Orforglipron, the leading small molecule in development.
● 69 core private investments since admission: As of 31 December 2024, thirty-one of these have since experienced liquidity events (i.e. by going public or through acquisition). Since admission, the average holding period as a private company was fourteen months and the average MOIC to the liquidity event was 1.8x. Sixteen of these positions have either concurrently or subsequently been exited in full at an average MOIC of 2.8x.
Royalty and Other Public:
● The Group's two royalty positions (3% of NAV) made a solid +2.4% contribution in 2024: The Group's investment in the Investment Manager's 4010 Royalty Fund performed well. 4010 currently holds two investments with Avadel Pharmaceuticals and Urogen Pharma (which is also the underlying asset of RTW Royalty 2). In the third quarter, 4010 sold its Allurion royalty at a small profit including royalties received to date, allowing us to redeploy the capital into more attractive risk-reward opportunities.
● Avadel: This royalty agreement is associated with the sales of Lumryz, the sole extended-release sodium oxybate medication approved by the FDA as a once-at-bedtime treatment for cataplexy or excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) in adults with narcolepsy. Lumryz's sales ramp is significantly outperforming 4010's underwriting target.
● Urogen: The Urogen royalty is connected to two oncology franchises: Jelmyto and UGN-102, both of which are topical therapies in the urinary tract for urothelial and bladder cancers, typically treated by surgical interventions. The majority of the royalty returns are derived from Jelmyto, which is an established and growing product. UGN-102 is nearing FDA approval with Phase 3 data, and we expect it to be approved in June 2025.
● 31% of the Group's NAV is invested in "other publicly" listed companies: The 50 "other public" holdings are carefully selected, mostly matching, on a pro-rata basis, the long investments held in the Investment Manager's private funds.
Post Period-End Events
● In January, Kailera announced positive topline data from the 8 mg dose of Hengrui Pharmaceuticals' Phase 2 clinical trial (HRS9531-203) of HRS9531, a GLP-1/GIP receptor dual agonist, in individuals living with obesity or overweight. The clinical trial results showed that a once-weekly subcutaneous injection demonstrated a statistically significant placebo-adjusted mean weight loss, with no plateau. Additionally, 59% of treated participants achieved a weight loss greater than 20%. The trial results also demonstrated a favourable safety profile. These results increase our confidence that Kailera is one of the leading players in next-generation obesity management and bode well for Kailera's planned global Phase 3 trial.
● Also in January, Akero (Nasdaq: AKRO) released preliminary topline results from its Phase 2b study evaluating the efficacy and safety of its lead product candidate, efruxifermin (EFX), in patients with compensated cirrhosis due to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis MASH. Treated patients demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in fibrosis with no worsening of MASH, representing a 24% effect size over placebo at 15%. Upon the news, shares in Akero, a 5.2% position at year end, rose 100%.
● Cargo Therapeutics announced it would seek a reverse merger: After halting work on its lead candidate following a failed Phase 2 study, Cargo announced that it would discontinue its entire R&D pipeline, lay off most of its staff and seek a reverse merger or other business combination.Beta Bionics went public on 30 January: it issued 12 million shares of common stock at $17.00 each, raising proceeds of US$204 million. The shares now trade on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol "BBNX".
Other Company highlights:
● The Investment Manager continues to demonstrate its commitment to and alignment with the Group: RTW Investments' CIO, Rod Wong, bought 19,949,441 shares in 2024, increasing his stake to 14.8% at the period end. On 26 February 2025, Rod further increased his stake to 15.0%, bringing his total holding to 50,356,880 shares.
● Specialist non-executive director appointed: The increased scale of the Company following strong performance and the Arix transaction allowed us to appoint a new Non-Executive Director, Baroness Nicola Blackwood, a leader in science and entrepreneurship. She is a member of the House of Lords, and Chair of Genomics England and Oxford University Innovation. She is also a board member of the biotechnology company, BioNTech.
Enquiries:
| RTW Investments, LP - Investment Manager Woody Stileman (Business Development) Oliver Kenyon (Business & Corporate Development) Krisha McCune (Investor Relations) | +44 (0)20 7959 6361 biotechopportunities@rtwfunds.com |
| Cadarn Capital - PR & IR Partner Lucy Clark (PR) David Harris (Distribution) | +44 (0)7984 184 461 / lucy@cadarncapital.com +44 (0)7368 883 211 / david@cadarncapital.com |
| Deutsche Numis - Joint Corporate Broker Freddie Barnfield Nathan Brown Euan Brown | +44 (0)20 7260 1000 |
| BofA Securities - Joint Corporate Broker Edward Peel Alex Penney | +44 (0)20 7628 1000 |
| Altum (Guernsey) Limited Joanna Duquemin Nicolle Sadie Morrison | +44 (0)1481 703 100 |
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.
RTW Biotech Opportunities at a Glance
Our Purpose: Transforming the lives of millions
RTW Bio's long-term strategy is anchored in identifying sources of transformational innovations with significant commercial potential by engaging in deep scientific research and a rigorous idea generation process, which is complemented by years of investment, company building, and both transactional and legal expertise.
What we do goes beyond short term financial gain
We invest for the long term, powering the next generation of breakthroughs in science and medicine to help transform lives. That's what drives us - the greater impact we can help create.
Our global reach
RTW Investments headquarters
RTW Investments global offices
Netherlands: Merus, Alesta
Germany, Spain, Switzerland and the Nordic countries: Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Numab
Ireland: GH Research
Israel: Urogen Pharma
China: Corxel, Nuance, Oricell
UK: Immunocore, Artios
THE US
We have a core focus on the US, with deep coverage of opportunities from academia to mid-size public companies. We apply a full range of deal execution and company building capabilities.
THE UK & EUROPE
We have identified and invested in exceptional British and European scientific assets. We look to contribute to these biotech ecosystems by engaging in creation or ongoing development of new companies around promising early-stage assets by partnering with universities and in-licensing academic programmes, and by providing financial and human capital to entrepreneurs to advance scientific programmes.
What this means for investors:
· access to cutting edge research labs and academic knowledge
· access to greater breadth of science and opportunity
· participation in value creation in local biotech ecosystems
CHINA
We are capturing commercialisation opportunities in China by investing across the venture capital life cycle: from new company formation to IPO, to bringing successful, innovative drugs to patients in China and across the globe.
What this means for investors:
· access to a budding biotech market, innovation and expertise
· an opportunity to be established in a market with the scope for significant growth
Members of the RTW Investments team
2024: 77
2023: 70
The RTW Investments culture
RTW Investments' priority is unlocking value by advancing early-stage scientific development to deliver innovative therapies to patients in need.
At the core of our business is a set of guiding principles.
COLLABORATION
Leveraging collective genius
PROGRESS
From research, to innovation, to reality
HUMILITY
The hunger to learn and improve
TENACITY
Finding pathways to success while overcoming obstacles
RIGOUR
Poring over the data
LEADERSHIP
The courage to shape a better future
The RTW Investments Difference
RTW Investments connects data, experience, and talent to bring opportunities into focus
We identify transformative assets with growth potential across the life sciences sector. Our approach is driven by deep scientific expertise with a long-term investment horizon.
RTW Investments' COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES
DEEP RESEARCH
We dive into the data to spot opportunities that others miss. Opportunities, potential, errors, and risks are all easily overlooked, so we analyse and scrutinise, applying a unique, repeatable research approach, fine-tuned over years of successful life sciences investment. We combine the best data, technology, and scientific insight to unearth opportunity.
SELECTIVITY
We cast a wide net, but only assets with high probability of becoming commercially viable products and those with the greatest potential to revolutionise treatment outcomes for patients pass the test. We choose partners who care less about quick wins and more about lasting change.
KNOWLEDGE
We are doctors, academics, and drug developers; venture capitalists and investment bankers; lawyers, data scientists and company operators. We work as a team, applying collective expertise to spark ideas, solve problems, avoid pitfalls, and build successful companies.
FLEXIBLE SOLUTIONS
Drug development rarely follows a linear path. Whatever the twists and turns, we have the skills in house to solve problems and accelerate progress, from providing capital and infrastructure to advance promising academic programmes, to forming new companies and taking those companies public. We carve new pathways, allowing scientists and entrepreneurs to bring life-changing therapies to patients.
PEOPLE
Healthcare innovation is hard work, and easy wins are few and far between. Those who succeed don't lose sight of why it matters. These are the people we love working with. We come from many different backgrounds but are united in a mission to improve people's lives.
LONG-TERM PARTNERS
Bringing new therapies to patients is a long journey that comes with both thrilling triumphs and inevitable setbacks. We are hands-on and fully invested in the success of our partners because their success is our success. We choose partners who are as passionate about revolutionising medicine as we are.
RTW Biotech Opportunities' Full Life Cycle portfolio has multiple, differentiated return levers and horizons
 |  |  |  |
| Private 20-40% of NAV | Core Public 30-60% | Royalties 5-15% | Cash 0-30% Management ("Other Public") |
| 5-20 most compelling private investment opportunities per year. | The main portfolio driver over the medium and long term. | Uncorrelated, cash generative life sciences exposure with limited scientific risk. | Innovative biotechs are generally cash flow negative, requiring investment for clinical trials and commercial launches. Therefore, a portion of the portfolio is retained in cash and liquid investments, ready for future financing rounds. |
| Majority invested in mid-to-late-stage venture or crossover rounds where we expect a go-public event within six to eighteen months. | Biotech companies tend to IPO at around $500m. As a result, much of the valuation realisation occurs in the public markets. To capture as much value as possible, it is expected that most private portfolio companies will be retained after going public. | Royalty-backed launch financing for newly approved life sciences products. In exchange for an upfront payment, RTW Bio receives quarterly cash payments based on a negotiated percentage of the products' sales. | Excess cash is invested in the "other public" portfolio, designed to mitigate the drag of setting aside cash for future deployment into core positions. |
| As a leading US crossover firm, RTW Investments is sought out by the best private biotechs as they look towards the public markets. We expect to lead about half of these rounds, setting the terms and building the syndicates. | Retention and subsequent investment decisions subject to constant risk-reward assessment. | Downside protection through deal structuring | The "other public" assets have been carefully selected, mostly matching, on a pro-rata basis, the long investments held in RTW Investments' private funds. |
| About one third is invested in early-stage venture and RTW Investments company creations where we expect a go-public event in three to five years. | Successful investments could be held for 3-5 years with multiple value inflection points along the way. | Expect to have principal repaid within six years, then a harvest period. Term/return can be capped or uncapped. | Ability to hedge individual positions and use modest leverage. |
| Initial position size: <2%. | Typical position size: 1-10% | Typical position size: 1-2% | Typical position size: 0.1-5% |
Investment Objective and Investment Policy
Applying deep scientific expertise with a long-term investment horizon
Investment Objective
The Group seeks to achieve positive absolute performance and superior long-term capital appreciation, with a focus on forming, building, and supporting world-class life sciences, biopharmaceutical and medical technology companies. It intends to create a diversified portfolio of investments across a range of businesses, each pursuing the development of superior pharmacological or medical therapeutic assets to enhance the quality of life and/or extend patient life.
Investment Policy
The Group seeks to achieve its investment objective by leveraging the Investment Manager's data-driven proprietary pipeline of innovative assets to invest in life sciences companies:
· across various geographies (globally);
· across various therapeutic categories and product types (including but not limited to genetic medicines, biologics, traditional modalities such as small molecule pharmaceuticals and antibodies, and medical devices);
· in both a passive and active capacity and intends, from time to time, to take a controlling or majority position with active involvement in a Portfolio Company to assist and influence its management. In those situations, it is expected that the Investment Manager's senior executives may serve in temporary executive capacities; and
· by participation in opportunities created by the Investment Manager's formation of companies de novo when a significant unmet need has been identified and the Group is able to build a differentiated, sustainable business to address said unmet need.
The Group expects to invest approximately 80 per cent of its gross assets in the biopharmaceutical sector and approximately 20 per cent of its gross assets in the medical technology sector.
The Group's portfolio will reflect its view of the most compelling opportunities available to the Investment Manager, with an initial investment in each privately held Portfolio Company ("Private Portfolio Company") expected to start in a low single digit per cent of the Group's gross assets and grow over time, as the Group may, if applicable, participate in follow-on investments and/or continue holding the Portfolio Company as it becomes publicly-traded. It is intended certain long-term holds will increase in size and may represent between five and ten per cent or greater of the Group's gross assets.
The Group anticipates deploying one-third of its capital designated for core private investments toward early-stage and de novo company formations (including newly formed entities around early-stage academic licenses and commercial stage corporate assets) and two-thirds of its capital in mid- to late-stage ventures.
The Company may choose to invest in Portfolio Companies listed on a public stock exchange ("Public Portfolio Companies") depending on market conditions and the availability of appropriate investment opportunities. Equally, as part of a full-life cycle investment approach, it is expected that Private Portfolio Companies may later become Public Portfolio Companies. Monetisation events such as IPOs and reverse mergers will not necessarily be taken as exit opportunities for the Group. Rather, the Group may decide to retain all or some of or add to its investment in such Portfolio Companies or the acquiring Company where they meet the standard of diligence set by the Investment Manager. The Group is not required to allocate a specific percentage of its assets to Private Portfolio Companies or Public Portfolio Companies.
The Group also intends, where appropriate, to invest further in its Portfolio Companies, supporting existing investments throughout their lifecycle. The Group may divest its interest in Portfolio Companies in part or in full when the risk-reward trade-off is deemed to be less favourable.
From time to time, the Group may seek opportunities to optimise investing conditions, and to allow for such circumstances, the Group will have the ability to hedge or enter into securities or derivative structures in order to enhance the risk-reward position of the portfolio and its underlying securities.
Investment restrictions
The Group will be subject to the following restrictions when making investments in accordance with its investment policy:
· the Group may not make an investment or a series of investments in a Portfolio Company that result in the Group's aggregate investment in such Portfolio Company exceeding 15 per cent (or, in the case of Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 25 per cent) of the Group's gross assets at the time of each such investment;
· the Group may not make any direct investment in any tobacco company and not knowingly make or continue to hold any Public Portfolio Company investments that would result in exposure to tobacco companies exceeding one per cent of the aggregate value of the Public Portfolio Companies from time to time.
Each of these investment restrictions will be calculated as at the time of investment. In the event that any of the above limits are breached at any point after the relevant investment has been made (for instance, upon successful realisation of economic and/or scientific milestones or as a result of any movements in the value of the Group's gross assets), there will be no requirement to sell or otherwise dispose of any investment (in whole or in part).
Leverage and borrowing limits
The Group may use conservative leverage in the future in order to enhance returns and maximise the growth of its portfolio, as well as for working capital purposes, up to a maximum of 50 per cent of the Group's net asset value at the time of incurrence. Any other decision to incur indebtedness may be taken by the Investment Manager for reasons and within such parameters as are approved by the Board. There are no limitations placed on indebtedness incurred in the Group's underlying investments.
Capital deployment
The Group anticipates that it will, upon any subsequent capital raises, invest up to 80% of available cash in Public Portfolio Companies that have been diligenced by the Investment Manager and represent holdings in other portfolios managed by the Investment Manager, subsequently rebalancing the portfolio between Public Portfolio Companies and Private Portfolio Companies as opportunities to invest in the latter become available.
Cash management
The Group's uninvested capital may be invested in cash instruments or bank deposits pending investment in Portfolio Companies or used for working capital purposes.
Hedging
As described above, the Group may seek opportunities to optimise investing conditions, and to allow for such circumstances, there will be no limitations placed on the Group's ability to hedge or enter into securities or derivative structures in order to enhance the risk-reward position of the portfolio and its underlying securities.
On an ongoing basis, the Group does not intend to enter into any securities or financially engineered products designed to hedge portfolio exposure or mitigate portfolio risk as a core part of its investment strategy but may enter into hedging transactions to hedge individual positions or reduce volatility related to specific risks such as fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, interest rates, and other market forces.
RTW Biotech Opportunities' 5th Anniversary
On 30th October 2024, RTW Biotech Opportunities Ltd celebrated its fifth anniversary since listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). From listing through to its fifth year, the Group grew its NAV from US$153.0m to US$650.6m and NAV per share by +86.3%. Along the way, several key milestones marked the journey:
· Market-beating and peer-leading performance: the Group's NAV per share return of +86.3% over the five years marked RTW Bio as the best performing biotech-focused listed investment company on a NAV per share basis on the London Stock Exchange in that time. This compared to a +37.7% return for the Nasdaq Biotech Index and +16.3% for the Russell 2000 Biotech Index over the same period.
· A 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 migrated from the Specialist Segment to the Premium Segment, which was subsequently consolidated into the Main Market in 2024. In 2022, the Investment Manager set up an office in London to be closer to the listing, shareholders and investment opportunities in the UK.
· Prometheus Biosciences acquisition shows the 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 US$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 ultimately its sale, generating a more than 12x total multiple on invested capital (MOIC) in just over three years.
· Arix transaction added scale and capital to a best-in-class platform: In November 2023, RTW Bio announced plans to acquire Arix Bioscience Plc ("Arix"), 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.
Chair's Statement
Investing in tomorrow's most promising medicines
We are delighted to have celebrated, on 30 October, the passing of our fifth anniversary since listing on the London Stock Exchange. In that time, the Group's NAV per share delivered a five-year return of +86.3% marking it as the best performing biotech-focused listed investment company on a NAV per share basis on the London Stock Exchange. This compared to a +37.7% return for the Nasdaq Biotech Index and +16.3% for the Russell 2000 Biotech Index over the same period. We are pleased to mark the fifth Anniversary this year with market-beating and peer-leading performance, despite most of the last three years experiencing the sector's second worst bear market in history. Encouragingly, the backdrop is now improving and we believe that we are still in the early innings of a recovery for the sector.
2024 Overview and 2025 Outlook
The Group's NAV returned -4.6% per Ordinary Share over the twelve months to 31 December 2024, slightly underperforming the Russell 2000 Biotechnology Index and the Nasdaq Biotech Index (NBI) which returned +2.5% and -1.4%, respectively. This is the first year that the Group's NAV per share has underperformed, but it remains markedly ahead of sector indices over three years, five years and since admission. Like many listed investment companies, particularly those with private exposure, the Company's share price has lagged NAV per share growth, although the discount narrowed modestly in 2024.
As always, there was plenty of activity in the portfolio to report. One of the benefits of having a full life cycle approach is that there are always opportunities and events including private financing rounds, go-public events, take-outs, clinical developments and royalty distributions.
There were four go-public events from core private positions in the first half: Kyverna, Lenz, Artiva and BioAge. The average step up from holding value to go-public in these four events was +9.7% and the average multiple on invested capital was 1.3x. There was one M&A deal involving Numab, a core private position, which sold its lead program to Johnson & Johnson for US$1.25bn. Being a private position meant that the impact on the Group was less than it might have been had it occurred after the company became public when we normally take bigger positions, but it led to a near 2.6x uplift from the holding value as at 31 December 2024. Combined, these transactions continue to underline the embedded value of the portfolio's private holdings and provide evidence of the robustness of the Group's valuation process. But despite continued successes here, the market appears to discount the private assets.
In the core public portfolio, two genetic medicine companies had the biggest impacts on NAV. Avidity Biosciences announced several positive clinical events for patients suffering from severe muscular diseases which in many cases have no approved drugs. Avidity's share price increased by 221% in 2024, making it a very rewarding investment from a shareholder perspective this year and from our original investment in their 2019 crossover round, since when it has returned a 4.5x multiple on invested capital. Should Avidity succeed through subsequent trials and regulatory approval, it will also be a very rewarding investment from a patient impact perspective too. Rocket Pharmaceuticals' share price struggled in 2024. With no clinical readouts on the calendar, the shares were buffeted by top-down factors whilst it also did not deliver on clinical and regulatory timelines for its two lead programs. Despite the volatility and setbacks, we continue to see value and transformational potential for patients suffering from horrendous diseases like Danon.
Since admission, the Group has made 69 private investments. Thirty-one of these have since experienced liquidity events (by going public or via acquisition). The average holding period as a private investment was fourteen months and the average MOIC to the liquidity event was 1.8x. This was 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 another funding round and a public mark, rather than an exit opportunity, but the step up to the IPO is a nice way to start a public investment especially when one considers the other advantages of investing in the private rounds, most particularly, getting closer to the science to build conviction.
The Group's royalty investments are performing well and provide a differentiated income stream that is uncorrelated to equity markets. The risk adjusted returns are very attractive and highly complementary to the rest of the portfolio. The ability to offer a full suite of financing solutions to companies helps position RTW Investments as one of the preferred capital providers in the space. Our exposure to royalties is expected to increase in the years ahead as the 4010 Royalty Fund, in which we are invested, draws down capital for new investments.
At the end of the period, the Group had fifty-four core portfolio holdings, a material increase from the start of the year as several new private and public positions were added on top of the new private positions from Arix. Opportunities are abundant and capital is valuable. The core portfolio represents 67.1% of NAV at year end. The "other public" portfolio (mostly matching the long listed names held in the Investment Manager's private funds, devised to mitigate the performance drag of setting aside cash for future deployment into core positions) makes up the remainder. It is important to note that this portion of the portfolio is also expected to generate solid returns through the cycle and is made up of similarly innovative but slightly larger, later stage biotech companies, many of which already have approved drugs.
The market environment for the biotech sector is improving and the opportunity set for stock picking is encouraging albeit the sector's recovery is still early. Changes in interest rate expectations are adding periods of volatility, but good data and good products are being rewarded. Medical science innovation has never been better, financing activity is robust and M&A looks set to rebound. President Trump's appointment for Secretary of Health and Human Services, RFK Jr, has added a little uncertainty but that should lift as it becomes clear that innovation is part of the solution in his pursuit of "making America healthy again".
With a growing pipeline of interesting opportunities at attractive valuations, our private investing activity has returned to normal after a couple of years when it was more optimal to focus on public market opportunities. All parts of our full life cycle portfolio are well positioned and competition for capital within the portfolio is intense.
RTW Bio continues to provide investors with exposure to the most innovative and exciting parts of the healthcare sector via a range of public, private and royalty investments. This full life cycle approach gives our shareholders access to a wide range of investment opportunities that would otherwise be hard to exploit, thus making the Group an attractive holding alongside passive, private equity fund or direct equity healthcare exposures. This proposition is most stark in next-generation obesity drugs, which are mostly still private at this point. With the addition to the portfolio of Kailera and the acquisition by Corxel (formerly known as JiXing) of CX11, RTW Bio is unique among listed investment companies for shareholders looking for meaningful exposure on the private side to this exciting area.
Corporate Developments
We are delighted to have completed the acquisition of Arix Bioscience Plc's assets and welcome new shareholders to our register. The combination added capital and scale to our best-in-class platform. RTW Bio is now one of the largest biotech investment companies quoted on the London Stock Exchange and the increased scale, liquidity and awareness has attracted several new potential buyers.
The increased scale that the Arix transaction has brought us has also allowed us to appoint a Senior Independent Director with considerable life sciences experience. Baroness Nicola Blackwood is a leader in science and entrepreneurship. She is a member of the House of Lords, and Chair of Genomics England and Oxford University Innovation. She is also Board Member of the biotechnology company, BioNTech. Nicola is also a member of the Oxford Harrington Rare Disease Centre Advisory Board and the Royal Society Science Policy Expert Advisory Committee. Nicola served as a Minister in the Department for Health and Social Care under two Prime Ministers. As Minister for Innovation, she led on Life Sciences, NHS Data and Digital Transformation, and Global Health Security. She was the first female Member of Parliament for Oxford and was elected by MPs of all parties as the first female Chair of the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee. She remains one of the youngest committee chairs in British history. We are delighted to welcome Nicola, believing that her contributions will help us further our mission to harness innovation in biotech to the advantage of patients and shareholders.
Capital Allocation
Around the time of the Arix closing, the Board increased the previously announced share buyback capacity to help manage any short-term changes in the shareholder base around the deal. In total, the Group bought back 8,500,000 shares in 2024 for a total consideration of US$11,340,306. Buybacks are considered through a capital allocation lens against multiple factors, most importantly, our core objective to deliver long-term capital growth. With this context it is important to recognise that our investments generally consume cash to progress through clinical trials or early commercialisation, so retaining capital and some liquidity is essential, especially in challenging market environments where opportunities are available to those who can provide a quantum of capital quickly. However, in recent times when the Group has received a significant cash inflow (i.e. the sale of Prometheus to Merck and the acquisition of Arix and its substantial cash position), we have returned a portion through NAV-accretive buybacks. As with Prometheus, in the event of cash realisations from public M&A in our portfolio, a proportion of the profits may be used to buy back shares. However, we strongly believe that now is a once-in-a-generation time to be making private and public investments in biotech, so we must balance short term discount considerations that are impacting the whole investment trust industry, and our healthcare peers within it, against very significant medium to long term capital growth potential.
Manager Commitment and Alignment
I am pleased to note the expansion of the Investment Manager's wider team in the UK in recent years, focussing amongst other things on servicing RTW Bio shareholders, and am particularly pleased to note the continued alignment of the Investment Manager with the Group. Since IPO, the Investment Manager has not sold any of its shares in the Company and key principals, including CIO Rod Wong, continue to increase their personal holdings. Last year Rod Wong bought 19,949,441 shares bringing his total shareholding to 49,643,313 (14.8% of ordinary shares in issue not held in treasury). Post period-end, he bought additional shares increasing his position to 15.0%. Furthermore, since admission the Investment Manager has only taken one distribution, in shares, from the Performance Allocation share class, increasing its investment in the Group. This further demonstrates both the value of the Group to the Investment Manager and its long-term commitment.
Looking Forward
Whilst 2024 was a challenging year for the biotech sector and UK investment companies, I am very pleased with the compelling long-term performance of RTW Bio and look forward with confidence to the next five years. 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.
2025 AGM
The Company will hold its Annual General Meeting on 9 June 2025 to review the annual results and provide portfolio updates. The meeting will take place at Royal Chambers, St Julian's Avenue, St Peter Port, Guernsey. We would like to dedicate a part of the meeting to address questions from shareholders. We encourage shareholders to submit questions at the following email, and we will endeavour to answer as many as we can: biotechopportunities@rtwfunds.com.
On behalf of the Board, I would like to express my gratitude for your continued support and wish you all the best for 2025.
William Simpson
Chair of the Board of Directors
RTW Biotech Opportunities Ltd
28 March 2025
Report of the Investment Manager
A full life cycle approach to investing in innovative healthcare companies
Financial Highlights, Performance Drivers and Significant Events
Since its listing on the London Stock Exchange on 30 October 2019, the Group has grown the NAV attributable to Ordinary Shareholders from US$168.0 million to US$606.9 million as of 31 December 2024. The NAV per Ordinary Share has grown +73.8% from US$1.04 to US$1.81 as of 31 December 2024. Disappointingly, the share price has not kept pace with the NAV, returning +34.1% in the same period, as the shares fell to a discount in early 2022 (as did many listed investment trusts) and have remained there since, despite strong NAV per Ordinary Share performance. In 2024, the NAV per Ordinary Share returned -4.6% while the share price returned -0.6%. With continued NAV outperformance versus the market and peers, in addition to an improving outlook for the biotech sector, we would expect the discount to narrow.
Table 1. Financial Highlights
| RTW Biotech Opportunities Ltd | Year-end reporting period (01/01/2024-31/12/2024) | Previous year-end reporting period (01/01/2023-31/12/2023) | Admission (30/10/2019-31/12/2024 |
| Ordinary NAV - start of period | US$399.3 million | US$326.1 million | US$168.0 million |
| Ordinary NAV - end of period | US$606.9 million | US$399.3 million | US$606.9 million |
| NAV per Ordinary Share - start of period | US$1.90 | US$1.54 | US$1.04 |
| NAV per Ordinary Share - end of period | US$1.81 | US$1.90 | US$1.81 |
| NAV movement per Ordinary Share | -4.6% | +23.5% | +73.8% |
| Price per Ordinary Share - start of period | US$1.40 | US$1.21 | US$1.04 |
| Price per Ordinary Share - end of period | US$1.40 | US$1.40 | US$1.40 |
| Share price return (i) | -0.6% | +16.0% | +34.1% |
| Benchmark returns (ii) | |||
| Russell 2000 Biotech | +2.5% | +10.6% | +7.4% |
| Nasdaq Biotech | -1.4% | +3.7% | +27.6% |
(ii) Source: Capital IQ
RTW Investments, LP, the "Investment Manager", a leading global healthcare-focused investment firm with a strong track record of supporting companies developing life-changing therapies, created the Group as an investment fund focused on identifying transformative assets with high growth potential across the biopharmaceutical and medical technology sectors. Driven by deep scientific expertise and a long-term approach to building and supporting innovative businesses, we invest in companies developing transformative next-generation therapies and technologies that can significantly improve patients' lives while creating significant value for our shareholders.
NAV performance in 2024 has been driven by the core public positions. This is how the portfolio is designed to function. As full life cycle investors, our belief is that the majority of value creation in biotech happens in the public market, however, it is valuable and important to position oneself and build conviction before an IPO. Our core public position Avidity is a case in point. We co-led the crossover round at the end of 2019 and supported the IPO in 2020. Since then, the company experienced some challenges until reporting great data from several of its programs in 2024. We had significantly increased our position in February 2024 by co-leading an oversubscribed US$400m private placement, proving the value of the Investment Manager's position as a preferred capital provider in the sector. The shares returned +221% over the course of 2024 giving rise to a +12.4% contribution to NAV. The other major contributor was Tarsus, which sits at the other end of the development life cycle, being a commercial stage company. Tarsus' share price rose materially in 2024 as its treatment for demodex infection, Xdemvy, continued to exceed consensus revenue expectations.
Rocket, Immunocore and Cargo were the largest detractors amongst the core public positions. After strong performance in 2023, Rocket's shares performed poorly in 2024. Rocket raised US$165m in a follow-on offering in December after a year in which it did not deliver on clinical and regulatory timelines for its two lead programs. Despite the setbacks, we think both the Danon and Fanconi anaemia programs continue to have transformative potential for patients. Immunocore reported melanoma data at ASCO showing a disappointing sub-20% response rate. It is important to note that both Rocket and Immunocore are multi-pipeline companies, so even if one asset disappoints there are other shots on goal. There was no material fundamental news during the year on Cargo, but with the next catalyst not forecast until 2025, the share price gave back much of the gains it made since its IPO in November 2023. Following period end, Cargo announced it was halting work on its lead candidate after a failed Phase 2 study, followed a couple months later by the discontinuation of its entire pipeline, and the announcement that it would lay off most of its staff and seek a reverse merger or other business combination.
The core private positions made a small contribution led by Numab. Kyverna, Artiva and BioAge Labs completed successful IPOs while Lenz went public through a reverse merger. The average gross multiple on invested capital (MOIC) on our initial investments in these four companies to the go-public event was approximately 1.3x. Numab sold its lead drug candidate to J&J for US$1.25bn. The company's holding value was increased by approximately 2.6x to reflect the deal, which closed in July.
2024 was an auspicious year for RTW Investments-founded Corxel, which changed its name from Ji Xing Pharmaceuticals during the year to reflect an expanding portfolio of global assets. Firstly, Ji Xing (as it was then called) announced that Bayer AG had invested in its Series D financing, whilst concurrently announcing a new strategic collaboration between the two companies focused on cardiovascular diseases in China. Later in the year, Corxel announced two significant transactions in December. First, after successfully completing its Phase 3 trial, Corxel sold its China Aficamten rights to Sanofi. The asset sale recognised the value created by the team and made it possible to in-license ex-China rights to CX11, an oral small molecule GLP-1 for obesity. In a China Phase 2 trial, CX11 showed competitive weight loss with Lilly's Orforglipron, the leading small molecule in development. We believe orals are one of the largest unmet needs in obesity and are excited for Corxel's transformation into a global cardiometabolic company.
The Group's royalty positions, representing ~3% of NAV, made a solid contribution this year, underlining the attractiveness of their uncorrelated, income-ori