Q2 2026 RTW Biotech Opportunities Ltd Earnings Call

September 14, 2026

Speaker #1: Good morning, and thank you for joining this presentation of the interim results to the 30th of June, 2026, for RTW Bio Opportunities. I'm Oli Kenyon, Director of Business Development at RTW, and I'm joined by our founder and CIO, Rod Wong.

Oliver Kenyon: Good morning, and thank you for joining this presentation of the interim results to 30 June 2026 for RTW Biotech Opportunities. I am Ollie Kenyon, Director of Business Development at RTW, and I am joined by our founder and CIO, Rod Wong. We have changed the format of this year's presentation. Shortly, Rod and I will present an overview of performance over the H1, the portfolio, and the outlook. At 2:00 PM UK time next Tuesday, 22 September, Rod and I will host a separate live Q&A session. Please email biotech opportunities@rtwfunds.com to sign up and send any questions for that session. We will repeat those details at the end of the webinar. As ever, we welcome your feedback on the presentation of these results. Before I turn to the results, a quick recap of who we are and what we do.

Ollie Kenyon: Good morning, and thank you for joining this presentation of the interim results to 30 June 2026 for RTW Biotech Opportunities. I am Ollie Kenyon, Director of Business Development at RTW, and I am joined by our founder and CIO, Rod Wong. We have changed the format of this year's presentation. Shortly, Rod and I will present an overview of performance over the H1, the portfolio, and the outlook. At 2:00 PM UK time next Tuesday, 22 September, Rod and I will host a separate live Q&A session. Please email biotech opportunities@rtwfunds.com to sign up and send any questions for that session. We will repeat those details at the end of the webinar. As ever, we welcome your feedback on the presentation of these results. Before I turn to the results, a quick recap of who we are and what we do.

Speaker #1: We've changed the format of this year's presentation. Shortly, Rod and I will present an overview of performance over the first half, the portfolio, and the outlook. At 2:00 p.m. UK time next Tuesday, the 22nd of September, Rod and I will host a separate live Q&A session.

Speaker #1: Please email biotechopportunities@rtwfunds.com to sign up and send any questions for that session. We'll repeat those details at the end of the webinar. As ever, we welcome your feedback on the presentation of these results.

Speaker #1: Before I turn to the results, a quick recap of who we are and what we do. RTW is a leading life sciences investment platform managing just under $10 billion as at June 30th, across four funds.

Oliver Kenyon: RTW is a leading life sciences investment platform, managing just under $10 billion as at 30 June across four funds. RTW Bio, two hedge funds, and a dedicated royalty fund. We have grown to a team of 92 people across New York, London, and Asia. Recently, we have added Abu Dhabi to this lineup, as my colleague Woody, who many of you will know, has relocated there from London. You will notice our headcount has grown across every function over the last 6 months as we continue to build out new capabilities. Rod will discuss our technology and data efforts in more depth later on in the presentation. Our approach remains unchanged, and at its heart is deep research-led investing. We focus on identifying and supporting world-class companies developing truly transformative therapies, assets that have the potential to significantly improve patients' lives. We are full lifecycle investors.

Ollie Kenyon: RTW is a leading life sciences investment platform, managing just under $10 billion as at 30 June across four funds. RTW Bio, two hedge funds, and a dedicated royalty fund. We have grown to a team of 92 people across New York, London, and Asia. Recently, we have added Abu Dhabi to this lineup, as my colleague Woody, who many of you will know, has relocated there from London. You will notice our headcount has grown across every function over the last 6 months as we continue to build out new capabilities. Rod will discuss our technology and data efforts in more depth later on in the presentation. Our approach remains unchanged, and at its heart is deep research-led investing. We focus on identifying and supporting world-class companies developing truly transformative therapies, assets that have the potential to significantly improve patients' lives. We are full lifecycle investors.

Speaker #1: RTW Bio: We have two hedge funds and a dedicated royalty fund. We've grown to a team of 92 people across New York, London, and Asia. Recently, we've added Abu Dhabi to this lineup, as my colleague Woody—whom many of you will know—has relocated there from London.

Speaker #1: You'll notice our headcount has grown across every function over the last six months, as we continue to build out new capabilities. Rod will discuss our technology and data efforts in more depth later on in the presentation.

Speaker #1: Our approach remains unchanged, and at its heart is deep, research-led investing. We focus on identifying and supporting world-class companies developing truly transformative therapies—assets that have the potential to significantly improve patients' lives.

Speaker #1: We're full lifecycle investors. That means we can build and invest in companies along the spectrum of early development through to commercialization, providing capital, expertise, and long-term support.

Oliver Kenyon: That means we can build and invest in companies along the spectrum of early development through to commercialization, providing capital, expertise, and long-term support. This strategy has delivered strong and consistent results. Our flagship funds have generated a 23% annualized net return since 2009. Through the H1 of 2026, RTW Bio returned 16.5% in NAV terms, performance that was between the benchmarks and comfortably ahead of the AIC peer group. Rod will go into the drivers of this performance shortly. RTW Bio continues to outperform over the medium to long term and has delivered markedly greater value to investors than other similar exposures over that time. Since IPO, RTW Bio's NAV has annualized almost 16% a year, about half more than the relevant biotech indices and four times that of our AIC peer group.

Ollie Kenyon: That means we can build and invest in companies along the spectrum of early development through to commercialization, providing capital, expertise, and long-term support. This strategy has delivered strong and consistent results. Our flagship funds have generated a 23% annualized net return since 2009. Through the H1 of 2026, RTW Bio returned 16.5% in NAV terms, performance that was between the benchmarks and comfortably ahead of the AIC peer group. Rod will go into the drivers of this performance shortly. RTW Bio continues to outperform over the medium to long term and has delivered markedly greater value to investors than other similar exposures over that time. Since IPO, RTW Bio's NAV has annualized almost 16% a year, about half more than the relevant biotech indices and four times that of our AIC peer group.

Speaker #1: This strategy has delivered strong and consistent results. Our flagship funds have generated a 23% annualized net return since 2009. Through the first half of 2026, RTW Bio returned 16.5% in NAV terms, performance that was between the benchmarks and comfortably ahead of the AIC peer group.

Speaker #1: Rod will go into the drivers of this performance shortly. RTW Bio continues to outperform over the medium to long term and has delivered markedly greater value to investors than other similar exposures over that time.

Speaker #1: Since IPO, RTW Bio's NAV has annualized at almost 16% a year—about half more than the relevant biotech indices, and four times that of our AIC peer group.

Speaker #1: What's particularly encouraging is that this alpha generation was delivered through a four-year bear market in biotech, from 2021 to late 2025. You'll be aware that biotech exited its bear market phase toward the end of last year, outperforming the S&P 500, and that's a trend that's continued and strengthened during the first half of this year, as Rod will set out.

Oliver Kenyon: What is particularly encouraging is that this alpha generation was delivered through a 4-year bear market in biotech from 2021 to late 2025. You will be aware that biotech exited its bear market phase towards the end of last year, outperforming the S&P 500, and that is a trend that has continued and strengthened during the H1 of this year, as Rod will set out. With that, I would like to hand over to Rod to discuss performance over the year so far, what is next for biotech and your company. Over to you, Rod.

Ollie Kenyon: What is particularly encouraging is that this alpha generation was delivered through a 4-year bear market in biotech from 2021 to late 2025. You will be aware that biotech exited its bear market phase towards the end of last year, outperforming the S&P 500, and that is a trend that has continued and strengthened during the H1 of this year, as Rod will set out. With that, I would like to hand over to Rod to discuss performance over the year so far, what is next for biotech and your company. Over to you, Rod.

Speaker #1: And with that, I'd like to hand over to Rod to discuss performance over the year so far, what's next for biotech, and your company.

Speaker #1: Over to you, Rod.

Speaker #2: Thanks, Oli. Hi, everybody, and as Oli mentioned, I'll start with performance. So, in the first half, the NAV per share grew by 16.5%. This was led by our public portfolio, and there was contribution from our private as well.

Rod Wong: Thanks, Ollie. Hi, everybody. As Ollie mentioned, I will start with performance. In the H1, the NAV per share grew by 16.5%. This was led by our public portfolio, and there was contribution from our privates as well. RTW Bio performance was ahead of the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index, it was behind the Russell 2000 Biotechnology Index, and ahead of our AIC peer group. For the sector overall, the first five months, the sector traded down on a number of uncertainties, but then recovered with a really strong June. June was actually the largest monthly gain for the XBI, since December 2023. For RTW Bio, it was a +9.7% month. So, so far you will notice from these numbers that the H1 was in line or behind some of our benchmarks. There are two main reasons for this. They are both positioning of the portfolio related.

Speaker #2: RTW Bio's performance was ahead of the NASDAQ Biotech Index; it was behind the Russell 2000 Biotech, and ahead of our AIC peer group. For the sector overall, during the first five months, the sector traded down on a number of uncertainties, but then recovered with a really strong June.

Speaker #2: June was actually the largest monthly gain for the XBI since December of '23. For RTW Bio, it was a plus 9.7% month. So, so far, you'll notice from these numbers that the first half was in line with, or behind, some of our benchmarks.

Speaker #2: There are two main reasons for this. They're both related to the positioning of the portfolio. So the first bucket, or major reason, was our positioning in commercial versus clinical names in biotech.

Rod Wong: The first bucket, or major reason, was that our positioning in commercial versus clinical names in biotech. We came into the year, 60/40 commercial versus clinical names. That does differ from our peers. Several of our launch names traded off for, I think, three high-level reasons. First was just seasonal. There is seasonal prescription softness. This is temporary and not surprising. Next, coming into the year in January, the biggest conference that kicks things off, the JPMorgan conference, M&A rumors really focused on clinical companies, namely ResMed and AbbVie. This caused the reduction in the M&A premium on some of the commercial names in the space. Finally, the Iran war. Generalist capital that we think entered into this space last year, to a number of commercial names, were the first to rotate out.

Speaker #2: So, we came into the year 60/40 commercial versus clinical names. That does differ from our peers. You know, several of our launch names traded off for, I think, three high-level reasons.

Speaker #2: First was just seasonal—there are seasonal prescription softnesses. This is temporary and not surprising. Next, coming into the year in January, the biggest conference that kicks things off, the J.P. Morgan Conference, M&A rumors really focused on clinical companies.

Speaker #2: Namely, Y-mAbs, RevMed, and Abivax, and this caused a reduction in the M&A premium on some of the commercial names in the space. And then, finally, the Iran war.

Speaker #2: Generalist capital, that we think entered into this space last year, to a number of commercial names, were the first to rotate out. The second major reason is that we do run a medtech book in addition to biotech, and most of our peers and benchmarks do not have that.

Rod Wong: The second major reason is that we do run a med tech book in addition to biotech, and most of our peers and benchmarks do not have that. Many names got caught in the AI or SaaS apocalypse sell-off. Some of these names have started recovering in the H2. None of this has any impact on our long-term views on the opportunity set in commercial stage companies. Some context, commercial launches were our number two source of alpha generation last year, so we remain, of course, committed to it as we have been the last 20 years almost. That said, we did make some incremental tactical adjustments as we go into the H2. We reduced our med tech exposure. We have decided to focus on companies with the biggest moats, as you worry about AI disruption.

Speaker #2: And many names got caught in the AI or SaaS apocalypse sell-off. Now, some of these names have started recovering in the second half. None of this has any impact on our long-term views on the opportunity set in commercial-stage companies.

Speaker #2: Some context: commercial launches were our number two source of alpha generation last year, so we remain, of course, committed to it as we have been for the last 20 years, almost.

Speaker #2: That said, we did make some incremental tactical adjustments as we go into the second half. We reduced our medtech exposure. We've decided to focus on companies with the biggest moats.

Speaker #2: As you worry about AI disruption, and then we incrementally increased our exposure to clinical-stage companies to about 50/50 again. All right, to the next slide.

Rod Wong: We incrementally increased our exposure to clinical stage companies to about 50/50 again. All right, to the next slide. Here you see our top contributors and detractors over the H1. Big picture, what you see here is that our winners were primarily clinical stage and the losers were commercial. On the winning side, you see three names. Kailera is a new co, as most of you know, started by us and Bain Capital. The company IPO'd this spring. The deal priced at the high end, it was upsized. It was actually the largest biotech IPO in history in terms of capital raised until another company, Parabilis Medicines, a few weeks later broke that record. Kailera closed up 63% on the first day of trading. Next one, Aruka Bio.

Speaker #2: Here you see our top contributors and detractors over the first half—big picture. What you see here is that our winners were primarily clinical-stage, and the losers were commercial.

Speaker #2: On the winning side, you see three names: Kylera is a new co, as most of you know, started by us and Bain. The company IPO'd this spring, with the deal priced at the high end.

Speaker #2: It was upsized. It was actually the largest biotech IPO in history in terms of capital raised, until another company, Parabolus, a few weeks later, broke that record.

Speaker #2: Kylera closed up 63% on the first day of trading. Next one, Aruka, they reported positive Phase 2 psoriasis data. That looks as good as the market leader, Skyrizi, which is one of the biggest products in pharma today.

Rod Wong: They reported positive phase II psoriasis data that looks as good as the market leader, SKYRIZI, which is one of the biggest products in pharma today, with the advantage of less frequent dosing. Finally, Tango. They showed proof of concept clinical data, combination of their drug with Revolution Medicines' pancreatic cancer drug, tripled response rates to north of 90% in the first dozen pancreatic cancer patients. This is early, but very exciting data for pancreatic cancer patients. On the losing side, on the right, Ensoma, we marked down in the private portfolio. They are doing a strategic pivot, and a reduction in force. Insmed, this is one of those commercial names that I mentioned, has sold off on Q1 earnings. Their numbers actually beat consensus, but on the call, they brought up risk factors that made investors worry about whether or not the launch would maintain its current trajectory.

Speaker #2: With the advantage of less frequent dosing. And then finally, Tango—they showed proof-of-concept clinical data on the combination of their drug with RevMed's pancreatic cancer drug.

Speaker #2: Tripled response rates to north of 90% in the first dozen pancreatic cancer patients. This is early, but very exciting data for pancreatic cancer patients.

Speaker #2: On the losing side, on the right, Ensoma—we marked down in the private portfolio—they're doing a strategic pivot and a reduction in force.

Speaker #2: Insmed—this is one of those commercial names that I mentioned. It sold off on Q1 earnings. Their numbers actually beat consensus, but on the call, they brought up risk factors that made investors worry about whether or not the launch would maintain its current trajectory.

Speaker #2: For context, since the first half, it looked like that launch has not slowed materially. Finally, Veristem has been drifting down ahead of clinical data for one of their pipeline programs—a RAS program that we expected in the second half of the year.

Rod Wong: For context, since the H1, it looks like that launch has not slowed materially. Finally, Verastem. That has been drifting down ahead of clinical data for one of their pipeline programs, a RAS program that we expect in the H2 of the year. All right, on to the next slide. This is actually a table of all the financial events. For example, deals and IPOs of all sizes across the RTW Bio portfolio. What you see here is multiple acquisitions at significant premiums for some of our smaller positions. You also see that the IPO window is normalizing and that those deals this year are performing well. The average IPO is up over 40% on the first day of trading.

Speaker #2: All right, on to the next slide. This is actually a table of all the financial events—so, for example, deals and IPOs—of all sizes across the RTW Bio portfolio.

Speaker #2: What you see here is multiple acquisitions at significant premiums for some of our smaller positions. You also see that the IPO window is normalizing.

Speaker #2: And that those deals this year are performing well. The average IPO is up over 40% on the first day of trading. I would just highlight three names on the bottom right here: Sarapha, Yero, and Avair—our company creations, two of which are led by us, the first two.

Rod Wong: I would just highlight three names on the bottom right here, Sarafa, Yero, and Aver, are company creations, two of which are led by us, the first two, that are going public nearly simultaneous to the creation of the company itself, with a transformative asset acquisition. This is something that you will hear me talk more about. Next slide. All right, so private part of the book performance over the H1. We have 38 private investments today. The performance in the H1 was led by Kailera, as you see here. The average valuation change across the private book was a modest markdown of 2.1%. 24 marked up, 11 marked down. This does not reflect the three companies that I just mentioned, Yero, which closed in July, a month after this, these numbers were locked, or Sarafa.

Speaker #2: These are companies that are going public nearly simultaneous to the creation of the company itself, with a transformative asset acquisition. This is something that you'll hear me talk more about.

Speaker #2: Next slide. All right, so private part of the book performance over the first half. We have 38 private investments today. The performance in the first half was led by Kylera, as you see here.

Speaker #2: The average valuation change across the private book was a modest markdown of 2.1%. Twenty-four were marked up, eleven marked down. This doesn't reflect the three companies I just mentioned.

Speaker #2: Yero, which closed in July, the month after this. These numbers were locked for Sarapha. I would highlight that the company creation team, beyond these deals I just mentioned, is very, very busy right now.

Rod Wong: I would highlight that the company creation team beyond these deals I just mentioned is very busy right now. It is really firing on all cylinders. Overall, since inception, RTW has launched 10 companies, but now we think we can do four to five, maybe even more company creations per year. All right, so I will shift gears a little bit and just talk about the sector by level. As Ollie mentioned, after four years of underperformance, biotech is on track for a second year of outperformance so far ahead of the S&P 500. That said, the sector is still under-owned, for folks who are worried whether or not you are too late. Net fund flows last year for the year as a whole were actually negative, because so much of the year had overhangs. Then through the H1 of this year is actually only flat.

Speaker #2: It's really firing on all cylinders. Overall, since inception, RTW has launched 10 companies. But now, we think we can do four to five, maybe even more, company creations per year.

Speaker #2: All right, so I'll shift gears a little bit and just talk about the sector at a high level. As Ollie mentioned, after four years of underperformance, biotech is on track for a second year of outperformance so far, ahead of the S&P.

Speaker #2: That said, the sector is still underowned. You know, for folks who are worried whether or not you're too late, net fund flows last year, for the year as a whole, were actually negative.

Speaker #2: Because so much of the year had overhangs, and then through the first half of this year has actually only been flat. A lot of that is because the Iran war drove capital out for most of the months so far this year.

Rod Wong: A lot of that because the Iran war drove capital out for most of the months so far of the year, and this only began to turn positive in June. Overall, our conclusion is that the recovery is actually early, not late. The biggest driver so far, I think, has been M&A. But also increasing recognition that this is an innovative sector that is also maturing at the same time and producing more commercially successful companies that are doing well. If you look at valuations, the NBI price to sales is now back to roughly the long-term average. But to contextualize this, the fundamentals we think are better than we have seen in the industry's history. I would also note that 30% of US biotechs under $10 billion in market cap still trade below the cash on their balance sheet. So there are still many asymmetric opportunities out there.

Speaker #2: And this only began to turn positive in June. So overall, our conclusion is that the recovery is actually early, not late. The biggest driver so far, I think, has been M&A.

Speaker #2: But there's also increasing recognition that this is an innovative sector that is maturing at the same time and producing more commercially successful companies that are doing well.

Speaker #2: If you look at valuations, the NBI price-to-sales is now back to roughly the long-term average. But to contextualize this, the fundamentals, we think, are better than we have seen in the industry's history.

Speaker #2: I would also note that 30% of U.S. biotechs under $10 billion in market cap still trade below the cash on their balance sheets. So, there are still many, many asymmetric opportunities out there.

Speaker #2: What I think this means overall is that, hopefully, we're in a stock pickers' market that also has a tailwind from an innovation and M&A boom.

Rod Wong: What I think this means overall is that hopefully we're in a stock pickers market that also has a tailwind from an innovation and M&A boom. Next slide. All right, so one of the big overhangs that plagued the sector, last year especially, was the FDA. There's been progress on this front. I would note, despite the leadership issues at FDA over the past year, 23 novel drugs were approved in the H1 of this year, and that's actually the highest H1 total since 2023, so innovation is doing well. Now, interim leadership under Kyle Diamantis has been reversing some of the negative decisions under the prior leadership of the past year, namely Vinay Prasad and Marty Makary. A couple of the notable examples are recent reversals in June for uniQure and REGENXBIO, and then Replimune, which really struggled under the prior regime, was approved.

Speaker #2: Next slide. All right, so one of the big overhangs that plagued the sector last year, especially, was the FDA. There's been progress on this front.

Speaker #2: I would note, despite the leadership issues at the FDA over the past year, 23 novel drugs were approved in the first half of this year.

Speaker #2: And that's actually the highest first-half total since 2023, so innovation is doing well. Now, interim leadership under Kyle Diamantis has been reversing some of the negative decisions made under the prior leadership of the past year, namely Vinay Prasad and Marty McCarrey.

Speaker #2: A couple of the notable examples are recent reversals in June for uniQure and RegenX Bio, and then Replimune, which really struggled under the prior regime but was approved.

Speaker #2: So I think we're seeing very clear signals that the FDA is reverting to a pro-innovation, pro-flexibility stance towards innovation. Now, we are waiting for permanent leadership.

Rod Wong: So I think we're seeing very clear signals that the FDA is reverting to a pro-innovation, pro-flexibility stance towards innovation. Now we are waiting for permanent leadership. Heidi Overton, who has been working in HHS, was recently nominated as FDA commissioner. We're waiting for her to go through confirmation. With her specifically, it's more a question mark as how she'll regulate drugs rather than a red flag. Her background is working at HHS, not specifically drug development. She has been a critical player in the White House or working with the White House to translate White House priorities into policy. She's done a good job of that. We think if she focuses on that, then FDA direction will likely depend much more on the division heads that are named, specifically who leads the CDER and CBER divisions.

Speaker #2: Heidi Overton, who has been working in HHS, was recently nominated as FDA commissioner. We're waiting for her to go through confirmation. With her specifically, it's more of a question mark as to how she'll regulate drugs, rather than a red flag.

Speaker #2: Her background is working at HHS, not specifically in drug development. She has been a critical player in the White House, or working with the White House, to translate White House priorities into policy.

Speaker #2: She's done a good job of that. We think if she focuses on that, then FDA direction will likely depend much more on the division heads that are named.

Speaker #2: Specifically, who names who leads the Cedar and Seabird divisions? The interims so far are excellent, as you can tell from these reversals. But we'll wait to see who will get the permanent roles.

Rod Wong: The interims so far are excellent, as you can tell from these reversals, but we'll wait to see on who will get the permanent roles. We are optimistic that, like the interim leaders, that they will be pro-innovation. Next slide. All right, so it's probably pretty clear that the IPO market has returned or turned around substantially. In the H1, there are 13 IPOs versus eight in all of last year. And if you include through the end of August, we're now up to 20. For context, I consider a healthy market somewhere north of 30 up to 50, so on this pace, we're probably on track to hit the low end of that healthy range. Next slide. M&A was strong in the H1. We expect that to continue 2026. There's already been $105 billion in deals. Compare that to last year's full year total of $126 billion.

Speaker #2: We are optimistic that, like the interim leaders, they will be pro-innovation. Next slide. All right, so it's probably pretty clear that the IPO market has returned, or turned around substantially.

Speaker #2: In the first half, there are 13 IPOs, versus eight in all of last year. And if you include through the end of August, we're now up to 20.

Speaker #2: For context, I consider a healthy market somewhere north of 30, up to 50. So at this pace, we're probably on track to hit the low end of that healthy range.

Speaker #2: Next slide. M&A was strong in the first half. We expect that to continue. In 2026, you know, there's already been $105 billion in deals. Compare that to last year's full-year total of $126 billion.

Speaker #2: You see cancer here has led by the number of deals. One of the things I'd point out is that we're seeing some non-pharma buyers start to do more M&A.

Rod Wong: You see cancer here has led by the number of deals. One of the things I would point out is that we are seeing some non-pharma buyers start to do more M&A. That includes large cap biotech. This is a good development for smaller biotechs that are developing products that are less than blockbusters. So drugs with multi-hundred million dollar potential, but not billion or multi-billion dollar potential. Those companies have struggled, certainly through the bear market, and it is great that they are getting more interest. Examples of that, Neurocrine's acquisition of Soleno and Vertex's recent acquisition of Crinetics. Premiums are healthy, with an average of 46%. Next slide. As I think most all of you know, what we have been saying is that there are now two engines that drive M&A, not just one.

Speaker #2: That includes large cap biotech. This is a good development for smaller biotechs that are developing products that are less than blockbusters. You know, so drugs with multi-hundred million dollar potential, but not billion or multi-billion dollar potential.

Speaker #2: And those companies have struggled, certainly through the bear market. And it's great that they're getting more interest. Examples of that include Neurocrine's acquisition of Solano, and Vertex's recent acquisition of Kinetics.

Speaker #2: Premiums are healthy, with an average of 46%. Next slide. And, as I think most all of you know, what we've been saying is that there are now two engines that drive M&A, not just one.

Speaker #2: Patent cliffs, of course, we are in a patent expiry cycle. But now you also have the cash flows from the historic growth of obesity products.

Rod Wong: Patent cliffs, of course, we are in a patent expiry cycle, but now you also have the cash flows from the historic growth of obesity products, most importantly, Eli Lilly. Lilly alone did nine deals for a total of just under $25 billion, nearly a quarter of the entire deal value in H1. They are leading everybody else, as you would expect. We think the next trend that you will see from Lilly is they will be doing larger and larger deals, not just be the highest by volume. Next slide. Here is where we are in the patent expiry cycle. Things grow from here to 2028. You see then there is a dip for a couple of years, and then they are at high levels again, beginning 2031, 2032. Now I am going to shift to what the portfolio composition looks like. Today, public positions make up 86%.

Speaker #2: Most importantly, Eli Lilly. Lilly alone did 9 deals for a total of just under $25 billion—nearly a quarter of the entire deal value in the first half.

Speaker #2: They're leading everybody else, as you would expect. We think the next trend that you'll see from Lilly is that they'll be doing larger and larger deals, not just being the highest by volume.

Speaker #2: Next slide. Here is where we are in the patent expiry cycle. Things grow. From here to 2028, you see there's a dip for a couple of years, and then they're at high levels again.

Speaker #2: Beginning 31, 32. Okay, now I'm going to shift to what the portfolio composition looks like. So today, public positions make up 86%. A lot of this is because our private portfolio is now going public.

Rod Wong: A lot of this is because our private portfolio is now going public, and also because our public names have performed well or gone up in value. So privates make up 18%. I would note, we expect high company creation activity, as I already hinted to earlier, and we also expect a pickup in crossovers now that the IPO market has normalized. So expect us to be doing more here. Whether the overall percent of the portfolio goes up or not depends on how rapidly those companies transition from private to public. Royalties makes up 2% of the portfolio currently. Thematically, we like to divide things by our six subteams. By the way, we also added a new AI dedicated subteam, which is a partnership between two of our other subteams. A couple of the trends that I would mention, we increased our exposure to cancer this year.

Speaker #2: And also because our public names have performed well or gone up in value. So, privates make up 18%. I would note we expect high company creation activity, as I already hinted at earlier.

Speaker #2: And we also expect a pickup in crossovers now that the IPO market has normalized. So, expect us to be doing more here. Whether the overall percent of the portfolio goes up or not depends on how rapidly those companies transition from private to public.

Speaker #2: Royalties make up 2% of the portfolio currently. Thematically, we like to divide things by our six sub-teams. By the way, we also added a new AI-dedicated sub-team, which is a partnership between two of our other sub-teams.

Speaker #2: A couple of the trends that I would mention: we increased our exposure to cancer. This year, there's a lot of innovation. We talked about going into ASCO—how transformative it would be for pancreatic cancer.

Rod Wong: There is a lot of innovation. We talked about going into ASCO, how transformative it would be for pancreatic cancer. We actually think major cancer conferences in the fall of this year, starting with ESMO, will also be pretty significant events. Immunology is still a major focus for us as the second highest allocation in the portfolio. As many of you know, the innovation story for immunology has shifted a little bit in the last couple of years. It has been more of a iterative innovation story as opposed to novel target story. There are multiple, for example, half-life extension products like Apogee, which was one of our portfolio companies which has been acquired, and also now the emergence of oral peptides like Protagonist, which are going after known targets, but making them oral.

Speaker #2: We actually think major cancer conferences in the fall of this year, starting with ESMO, will also be pretty significant events. Immunology is still a major focus for us.

Speaker #2: It's the second-highest allocation in the portfolio. As many of you know, the innovation story for immunology has shifted a little bit in the last couple of years.

Speaker #2: It's been more of an iterative innovation story as opposed to a novel target story. There are multiple examples. For example, half-life extension products like Apogee, which was one of our portfolio companies that has been acquired.

Speaker #2: And also, now the emergence of oral peptides, like Protagonist, which are going after known targets but making them oral. That said, we are seeing a pickup in innovation in novel ideas again.

Rod Wong: That said, we are seeing a pickup in innovation in novel ideas again, so you may see more of that in the portfolio in the future. In CNS, I'd say the thing to highlight is that psychedelic companies really are maturing now. COMPASS will be the first company to approach commercial launch, which will likely occur by early next year. In clinical stage companies, we're a big fan of GH Research because they could potentially have best-in-class efficacy and the most convenient administration profile. You may notice that our rare disease exposure is a bit lower for us at the moment, but there are some important events within the exposure that we do have coming up. Cardiovascular and metabolic is also smaller. This is mainly driven by the takeouts in our portfolio from last year in fatty liver or MASH.

Speaker #2: So, you may see more of that in the portfolio in the future. In CNS, I'd say the thing to highlight is that psychedelic companies really are maturing now.

Speaker #2: Compass will be the first company to approach commercial launch, which will likely occur by early next year. And then in clinical-stage companies, we're big fans of GH Research, because they could potentially have best-in-class efficacy and the most convenient administration profile.

Speaker #2: You may notice that our rare disease exposure is a bit lower for us at the moment, but there are some important events within the exposure that we do have coming up.

Speaker #2: Cardiovascular and metabolic is also smaller. This is mainly driven by the takeouts in our portfolio from last year in fatty liver, or MASH. Now, we think it will likely increase from here as we have new names entering the portfolio.

Rod Wong: Now, we think it will likely increase from here as we have new names entering the portfolio in obesity, next generation obesity, as well as some in heart failure. As I mentioned, we've reduced our med tech exposure, and we're focusing on our best ideas. Next slide. Here you see the detailed top 10 portfolio positions, as of 30 June, very briefly on the top five positions. Number one is CG Oncology. We're waiting for a phase III pivotal trial readout, which could come very shortly, probably. That was pulled forward from next year to this year. That explains part of the strong performance for the company in the H1 of this year. We'll be reporting on that result pretty soon. UroGen, they are launching JELMYTO very well in bladder cancer. Here we have exposure both through the equity as well as the royalty.

Speaker #2: In obesity, next-generation obesity, as well as some in heart failure. As I mentioned, we've reduced our med tech exposure, and we're focusing on our best ideas.

Speaker #2: Next slide. So, here you see the detailed top 10 portfolio positions as of June 30th. Very briefly, on the top five positions: Number one is CG Oncology.

Speaker #2: We're waiting for a Phase 3 pivotal trial readout, which could come very shortly, probably. That was pulled forward from next year to this year.

Speaker #2: That explains part of the strong performance for the company in the first half of this year. We'll be reporting on those results pretty soon.

Speaker #2: Eurogen—they are launching Zesturi, which is doing very well in bladder cancer. Here, we have exposure both through the equity as well as the royalty. Kymera and Arcutis, as I’ve already mentioned, are top contributors.

Rod Wong: Kailera and Aruka I've already mentioned are top contributors so far year to date. argenx, this is one of the few large caps that we have in the portfolio. Our involvement actually started quite a number of years ago. The stock has increased in market cap by over 100x since when we started to be involved. It remains a compelling investment today with lots of growth left as VYVGART continues to expand into new disease areas in immunology. All right, next slide. All right, here is kind of a fun analysis where we break down the performance of our private investments by annual cohorts. I'll just touch on a couple of the changes that you see on this slide. In the 2024 cohort, we've had two IPOs, Akero and Kailera, and we also had two go public reverse mergers, Obsidian and Alesta.

Speaker #2: So far, year to date. And then Argenx, this is one of the few large caps that we have in the portfolio. Our involvement actually started quite a number of years ago.

Speaker #2: The stock has increased in market cap by over 100x since we first became involved. It remains a compelling investment today, with lots of growth left as Vyvgart continues to expand.

Speaker #2: Into news, disease areas in immunology. All right, next slide. Here is a kind of a fun analysis where we break down the performance of our private investments by annual cohorts.

Speaker #2: So, I'll just touch on a couple of the changes that you see on this slide. In the 2024 cohort, we've had two IPOs: ACUS and Kylera.

Speaker #2: And we also had two go-public reverse mergers, Obsidian and Alesta. In the 2025 group, we had Yarrow, which is going public through a reverse merger.

Rod Wong: In the 2025 group, we had Yarrow, which is going public through reverse merger. This year, you'll see we've made three new private investments. Already two of these have announced reverse mergers, so very brief period of time in the private portfolio. This is obviously part of this broader theme that more of our newcos have a rapid path to IPO. Overall, from inception of RTW Bio, we have made 76 private investments. They're held at an average of a 1.6 times MOIC, translates to a 16% IRR. Those investments that we have that haven't had a liquidity event are held at a conservative average of 1.0 times MOIC, which is, of course, much less than what we've ultimately achieved with those that have had liquidity events, 1.6x or full exits, 2.3x.

Speaker #2: And this year, you'll see we've made three new private investments already. Two of these have announced reverse mergers, so a very brief period of time in the private portfolio.

Speaker #2: This is obviously part of the broader theme that more of our newcos have a rapid path to IPO. Overall, from inception at RTW Bio, we have made 76 private investments.

Speaker #2: They're held at an average of a 1.6 times MOIC, which translates to a 16% IR. You know, those investments that we have that haven't had a liquidity event are held at a conservative average of 1.0.

Speaker #2: That's MOIC, which is, of course, much less than what we've ultimately achieved with those that have had liquidity events—1.6×—or full exits, 2.3×.

Speaker #2: So, I'd note that when you look backwards, the holding period to liquidity is about 19 months on average. Because our focus primarily is on crossovers now, for context, we think that's actually on the long side.

Rod Wong: I would note that when you look backwards, the holding period to liquidity is about 19 months on average because our focus primarily is on crossovers. For context, we think that is actually on the long side because the bulk of this historical analysis period was this prolonged bear market. Most of our investments, we do not expect to participate in multiple private rounds, and we expect to go public sooner, especially as we are entering a more normal, healthy market, this number could go down. All right, next slide. Just a quick update on our royalties fund. As biotech is maturing, as producing more commercial stage companies, this is good for royalties. Royalties are a great additional capital source for companies, especially those with their first new product launch. It is better than debt for any sizable amount of capital.

Speaker #2: Because the bulk of this historical analysis period was this prolonged bear market, most of our investments—we don't expect to participate in multiple private rounds, and we expect them to go public sooner, especially as we're entering a more normal, healthy market.

Speaker #2: This number could go down. All right, next slide. Just a quick update on our royalty fund. You know, as biotech is maturing, as it's producing more commercial-stage companies, this is good for royalties.

Speaker #2: Royalties are a great additional capital source for companies, especially those with their first new product launch. It's better than debt for any sizable amount of capital.

Speaker #2: Here, we show a case study from our portfolio. It is Avidel's Lumerize. Just very briefly, we funded this after FTA approval, so there is no clinical risk.

Rod Wong: Here we show a case study from our portfolio, it is Avadel's LUMRYZ. Just very briefly, we funded this after FDA approval, so there is no clinical risk. The product launched very well. Avadel ended up getting acquired just this February. We exercised the right that we had in the contract for the acquirer, Alkermes, to put the full royalty cap to them. So we realized that 2.6x gross MOIC, that translates to a 52% gross IRR on the investment. We are now in the midst of raising fund two. That will be named RTW Royalty Fund II, and that fundraising is going well so far. All right, the last section, and I will hand it back over to Ollie.

Speaker #2: The product launch went very well. Avidel ended up getting acquired just this February. We exercised the right that we had in the contract for the acquirer, Alchemies.

Speaker #2: To put the full royalty cap to them. So we realized that 2.6x gross MOIC—that translates to a 52% gross IRR on the investment.

Speaker #2: We're now in the midst of raising Fund Two. That will be named RTW Royalty Fund Two, and that fundraising is going well so far.

Speaker #2: All right, the last section, and I'll hand it back over to Ali. Just to look ahead a little bit—as I mentioned, as biotech is turning increasingly commercial, a strength of ours is that predicting commercial launches has always been one of our core capabilities that we've developed since our inception.

Rod Wong: Just to look ahead a little bit, as I mentioned, as biotech is turning increasingly commercial, a strength of ours is that predicting commercial launches has always been one of our core capabilities that we have developed since our inception. Today, over half of all novel drug approvals are not coming from pharma, but are coming from small and mid-cap biotech companies. In fact, of our benchmarks, 40% of the XBI now are commercial stage companies, and it is actually increasing pretty quickly. Recent launches are actually outperforming one of the healthcare-focused banks. Cowen did an analysis of 80 plus drug approvals from 2020 to 2025, and the post-approval returns are quite good for the group as a whole, 34% at one year, 44% at two years. That is a huge improvement from the five years, from 2014 to 2018.

Speaker #2: You know, today, over half of all novel drug approvals are not coming from pharma, but are coming from small and mid-cap biotech companies.

Speaker #2: In fact, of our benchmarks, 40% of the XBI now are commercial-stage companies, and it's actually increasing pretty quickly. Recent launches are actually outperforming.

Speaker #2: One of the healthcare focused banks, Cowen, did an analysis of 80-plus drug approvals from 2020 to 2025, and the post-approval returns are quite good for the group as a whole.

Speaker #2: Thirty-four percent at one year, forty-four percent at two years. That's a huge improvement from the five years from 2014 to 2018. Then, it was plus six percent at one year, and actually negative nine percent at two years.

Rod Wong: It was +6% at one year and actually -9% at two years. That was the era of short the launch. So there is high dispersion underlying these averages. That is exactly what our commercial forecasting capability is built to discern. So we are excited about this growing opportunity set. Next slide. All right. I mentioned multiple times now that company creation is very exciting right now. Our capability really has matured. It is firing on all cylinders. Our team is really one of two leading venture firms globally in terms of our ability to source from China. We have done the second most deals for acquiring assets from there. That said, we can source from anywhere, including from pharma, from academics, even from de novo ideas. Just this year, Yero and Sarafa will join Kailera as extremely well-received value creating deals that rapidly progress from creation to the public market.

Speaker #2: That was the era of short-the-launch. So, there's high dispersion underlying these averages. That is exactly what our commercial forecasting capability is built to discern.

Speaker #2: So, we're excited about this growing opportunity set. Next slide. All right, I’ve mentioned multiple times now that company creation is very exciting right now.

Speaker #2: Our capability really has matured. It is firing on all cylinders. Our team is really one of two leading venture firms globally, in terms of our ability to source from China.

Speaker #2: We've done the second-most deals for acquiring assets from there. That said, we can source from anywhere, including from pharma, from academics, even from de novo ideas.

Speaker #2: Just this year, Yarrow and Sarapha will join Kylera as extremely well-received, value-creating deals that rapidly progress from creation to the public market.

Speaker #2: We believe this capability can now support, as I mentioned, at least four or five, possibly more, new company launches per year. All right, next slide.

Rod Wong: We believe this capability can now support, as I mentioned, at least four or five possibly new company launches per year. All right, next slide. Finally, this is my last slide to touch on AI. We are attacking AI from multiple angles. From an investable opportunity perspective, we have dedicated resource to cover this space. As I mentioned, we stood up a dedicated AI sub-team. We think near term, there is opportunity in healthcare services in med tech. Right here, AI adoption is already tangible. It is already translating into products and services that are accelerating revenue growth for publicly traded companies. You will see this among some of our more near term opportunities, especially in our med tech part of the portfolio. That said, we are also covering AI-led drug companies that are emerging, and we see opportunities there over time.

Speaker #2: Finally, this is my last slide. To touch on AI, we are attacking AI from multiple angles. From an investable opportunity perspective, we have dedicated resources to cover the space. As I mentioned, we stood up a dedicated AI sub-team.

Speaker #2: We think near-term there's opportunity in healthcare services and medtech. Right here, AI adoption is already tangible. It's already translating into products and services that are accelerating revenue growth for publicly traded companies.

Speaker #2: And so, you'll see this among some of our more near-term opportunities, especially in our medtech part of the portfolio. That said, we're also covering AI-led drug companies that are emerging.

Speaker #2: And we see opportunities there over time. And then, separate from investable opportunity, at our firm, we're very, very aggressive—probably among a very short list of the most aggressive dedicated healthcare firms—in terms of investing in technology for the future.

Rod Wong: Separate from investable opportunity, at our firm, we are very aggressive, probably among a very short list of the most aggressive dedicated healthcare firms in terms of investing in technology for the future. So in total, internal and external resources, we have nearly, probably north now actually of 20 full-time equivalents, people working across data sciences, AI, and internal software development for the firm. This is also our fastest growing team, so expect to hear more from us on AI. All right, I will hand it back over to Ollie.

Speaker #2: So in total, internal and external resources, we have nearly—probably north now, actually—of 20 full-time equivalents, people working across data sciences, AI, and internal software development for the firm.

Speaker #2: This is also our fastest-growing team, so expect to hear more from us on AI. All right, I'll hand it back over to Ali.

Speaker #1: Great, thanks, Rod. And now, to sum up why we are excited about this phase for RTW Bio: The first is that we're at a point where drugs are reaching patients for diseases that were simply untreatable a decade ago.

Oliver Kenyon: Great. Thanks, Rod. Now to sum up why we are excited about this phase for RTW Bio. The first is that we are at a point where drugs are reaching patients for diseases that were simply untreatable a decade ago. We are in this golden age of innovation, and AI is starting to compress timelines meaningfully from target identification through to the clinic. There really never has been a better time to be in biotech. Alongside that, the market is rewarding the best science. Conditions for exits are as good as they have been in years. M&A is running at multi-year highs. The IPO window is open, as you have heard, and the FDA is approving drugs at a really healthy clip. Good science is getting rewarded. But the valuations still lag fundamentals.

Ollie Kenyon: Great. Thanks, Rod. Now to sum up why we are excited about this phase for RTW Bio. The first is that we are at a point where drugs are reaching patients for diseases that were simply untreatable a decade ago. We are in this golden age of innovation, and AI is starting to compress timelines meaningfully from target identification through to the clinic. There really never has been a better time to be in biotech. Alongside that, the market is rewarding the best science. Conditions for exits are as good as they have been in years. M&A is running at multi-year highs. The IPO window is open, as you have heard, and the FDA is approving drugs at a really healthy clip. Good science is getting rewarded. But the valuations still lag fundamentals.

Speaker #1: We're in this golden age of innovation, and AI is starting to compress timelines meaningfully, from target identification through to the clinic. There really never has been a better time to be in biotech.

Speaker #1: Alongside that, the market is rewarding the best science. Conditions for exits are as good as they've been in years. M&A is running at multi-year highs.

Speaker #1: The IPO window is open, as you've heard, and the FDA is approving drugs at a really healthy clip. Good science is getting rewarded, but valuation still lags fundamentals.

Speaker #1: More than 80% of XBI constituents are forecast to turn commercial within the next 18 months, yet the sector still trades well below historical highs.

Oliver Kenyon: More than 80% of XBI constituents are forecast to turn commercial within the next 18 months, yet the sector still trades well below historical highs. The market has not priced in that commercial inflection yet, and we think that is an opportunity. Against all this, we have compounded RTW Bio's NAV at roughly 16% a year since IPO. That puts us ahead of the relevant biotech indices over that time and our AIC peer group. That reflects the quality of what is in the portfolio and how we construct it. That said, the discount to NAV, while it is almost halved over the past 12 months, we think the 15% level at period end is still an attractive entry point for a vehicle with this track record. Finally, our full life cycle advantage is something that really differentiates us. We are building companies from scratch before public markets recognize the value.

Ollie Kenyon: More than 80% of XBI constituents are forecast to turn commercial within the next 18 months, yet the sector still trades well below historical highs. The market has not priced in that commercial inflection yet, and we think that is an opportunity. Against all this, we have compounded RTW Bio's NAV at roughly 16% a year since IPO. That puts us ahead of the relevant biotech indices over that time and our AIC peer group. That reflects the quality of what is in the portfolio and how we construct it. That said, the discount to NAV, while it is almost halved over the past 12 months, we think the 15% level at period end is still an attractive entry point for a vehicle with this track record. Finally, our full life cycle advantage is something that really differentiates us.

Speaker #1: The market hasn't priced in that commercial inflection yet, and we think that's an opportunity. Against all this, we've compounded RTW Bio's NAV at roughly 16% a year since IPO.

Speaker #1: That puts us ahead of the relevant biotech indices over that time, and our AIC peer group. That reflects the quality of what's in the portfolio and how we construct it.

Speaker #1: That said, the discounts in NAV, while they've almost halved over the past 12 months, we think the 15% level at period end is still an attractive entry point for a vehicle with this track record.

Speaker #1: And finally, our full life cycle advantage is something that really differentiates us. We're building companies from scratch before public markets recognize the value. The newco pipeline that Rod just talked through is a big part of why we think the next wave of value creation is already coming.

Ollie Kenyon: We are building companies from scratch before public markets recognize the value.

Oliver Kenyon: The new co pipeline that Rod just talked through is a big part of why we think the next wave of value creation is already coming. That brings us to the end of the formal presentation. On behalf of RTW, I would like to thank you for your continued support. I encourage you to sign up for our live Q&A session next Tuesday, 22 September, at 2:00 PM UK time by emailing biotechopportunities@rtwpharma.com. Here are some important disclaimers. Finally, please stay in touch with us. You can find the RTW podcast on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, Amazon Music. Recent episodes include our oncology deep dive and a great miniseries on psychedelics. We are also active on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Rod on X with his handle @DocRodWong. Thank you again, and we look forward to speaking with you on 22 September. Have a great afternoon.

Ollie Kenyon: The new co pipeline that Rod just talked through is a big part of why we think the next wave of value creation is already coming. That brings us to the end of the formal presentation. On behalf of RTW, I would like to thank you for your continued support. I encourage you to sign up for our live Q&A session next Tuesday, 22 September, at 2:00 PM UK time by emailing biotechopportunities@rtwpharma.com. Here are some important disclaimers. Finally, please stay in touch with us. You can find the RTW podcast on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, Amazon Music. Recent episodes include our oncology deep dive and a great miniseries on psychedelics. We are also active on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Rod on X with his handle @DocRodWong. Thank you again, and we look forward to speaking with you on 22 September. Have a great afternoon.

Speaker #1: That brings us to the end of the formal presentation. On behalf of RTW, I'd like to thank you for your continued support. I encourage you to sign up for our live Q&A session next Tuesday, 22nd September at 2:00 p.m. UK time, by emailing biotechopportunities@rtwfunds.com.

Speaker #1: Here are some important disclaimers. And finally, please stay in touch with us. You can find the RTW podcast on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, and Amazon Music.

Speaker #1: Recent episodes include our oncology deep dive and a great miniseries on psychedelics. We're also active on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Rod is on X with his handle @docrodwong.

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Q2 2026 RTW Biotech Opportunities Ltd Earnings Call

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