A veteran banker and former pharma R&D chief are launching a fund that will buy up some of the nearly 300 listed biotechs that have had disappointing clinical trials, returning cash to shareholders and acquiring any valuable intellectual property.
Alis Biosciences then plans to list, hoping to attract big investors such as Fidelity and Wellington by offering them an easy way to spread their bets across the industry. It estimates that listed biotechs have a total of about $30bn in cash on their balance sheets.
Nick Johnston, a former biotech banker and entrepreneur, said the fallout from a prolonged market rout in the sector since the pandemic has been a “tragedy” for shareholders.