UK-based Janus Henderson observes significantly higher demand for biotech investments in 2024, highlighting its own strategy based on the so-called «90/90 rule».
Investor demand in the healthcare sector has been on the rise in recent years in the midst of a world with an aging population and rapid technological developments, particularly in biotech.
According to Janus Henderson’s CEO Asia and head of Asia client group Andrew Hendry, this also applies to Asia, citing interest in the firm’s biotech innovation strategy. Investors either allocate the strategy to their dedicated healthcare portfolios or within their hedge fund allocations, as there is a long/short component as well as exposure to private markets.
«In Asia, we sold four times as much in the first three months of 2024 than we did for the whole of 2023,» he said in a conversation with finews.asia. «Investments were principally coming from large single family offices and external asset managers. We are also receiving significant interest from private banks and have recently onboarded the biotech innovation portfolio with two large, global private banks operating in Asia.»
90/90 Rule
Hendry notes demand is partly driven by investor interest in a proprietary investment process developed by Janus Henderson's life sciences and healthcare team called the «90/90 rule».
«This reflects that fact that 90 percent of FDA clinical trials fail and of those that pass, 90 percent of the market fails to forecast which one will become a blockbuster drug,» he explained.
«The team covering the biotech innovation portfolio includes four fund managers and around half a dozen dedicated analysts. They are very deeply embedded in the industry. Many are trained physicians. One of them has his own patented molecule. One of our lead portfolio managers is from a family with three generations of surgeons.»
In the first nine months of 2024, the MSCI World Health Care index has delivered returns of 14.6 percent.
