Biotech Growth Trust : Monthly Fact Sheet as at 29 February 2024

The Biotech Growth Trust PLC

Information as at 29 February 2024

Investment Objective and Benchmark Index

The Biotech Growth Trust PLC (the "Company") seeks capital appreciation through investment in the worldwide biotechnology industry. Performance is measured against its benchmark index, the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (sterling adjusted).

Five Year Performance (%)

Past performance is not a guide to future performance. The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise and is not guaranteed; an investor may receive back less than the original amount invested.

140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
-20
Feb-19	Feb-20	Feb-21	Feb-22	Feb-23	Feb-24

Share Price (total return) +36.9%

Net Asset Value per share (total return) +39.1%

Benchmark: NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (sterling adjusted) +31.4%

Source: Morningstar, Index - Bloomberg.

Ten Largest Holdings as at 29 February 2024 (% of total investments)

Name	Total
Amgen	6.8
Biogen	5.8
Janux Therapeutics	5.6
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals	4.3
Sarepta Therapeutics	4.0
Neurocrine Biosciences	3.9
Vaxcyte	3.3
Apellis Pharmaceuticals	3.2
Argenx	3.2
Scholar Rock	3.0
Total	43.1

Portfolio Manager	Portfolio Manager
Geoffrey Hsu	Josh Golomb

Fast Facts	As at 29 February 2024
Launch Date	June 1997

	AIC Sector		Biotechnology &
		Healthcare
		Date of Appointment of OrbiMed
			19 May 2005

Annual Management Fee (payable by the Company)

0.65% of net assets plus 0.30% per annum on the Company's market capitalisation up to £500m, 0.20% on market capitalisation above £500m to £1bn and 0.10% on market capitalisation over £1bn

	Performance fee		See Annual Report
		for details
	Ongoing Charges		1.1%
	Ratio (OCR) *
	Continuation Vote		2025 AGM and every
		5th AGM thereafter
	Year / interim end		31 March / 30
		September
	Capital Structure		34,163,778 Ordinary
		Shares of 25p

Trust Characteristics

Number of Holdings	62
Net Assets (£m)	£369.8m
Market Capitalisation (£m)	£338.6m
Dividend	It is not anticipated that the
Policy	Company will pay a dividend
Gearing (AIC basis)	9.7%
Leverage**		Gross
		109.7%
		Commitment
		109.7%
Share Price (p)		991.00
NAV (p)		1,082.43
(Discount) / Premium	(8.4%)
Portfolio Turnover p.a.	98.7%
Active Share***		70.5%

biotechgt.com @biotechgt

The Biotech Growth Trust PLC

Information as at 29 February 2024

Geographical Breakdown as at 29 February 2024 (%)

*Calculated at the financial

year end, includes

management fees and all other operating

expenses, excludes performance fees.

North America

88.0%

**The Board has set the leverage limit for both the

Continental Europe

4.8%

Gross and the Commitment basis at 130% of the

China (quoted)

3.9%

Company's Net Asset Value.

Unquoted ‡

3.3%

***Active Share is expressed as a percentage and

shows the extent to which a fund's holdings and

their weightings differ from those of the fund's

benchmark index. A fund that closely tracks its

index might have a low Active Share of less than

20% and be considered passive, while a fund with

an Active Share of 60% or higher is generally

Total

100.0%

considered to be actively managed.

‡ No more than 10% of gross assets will be invested in unquoted investments at the time of

Investment Policy

acquisition. This limit includes any investment or commitment to invest in private equity funds

managed by OrbiMed or an affiliate thereof. Investments or commitments to invest in such

In order to achieve its investment objective,

private equity funds will be limited to US$15m, after the deduction of proceeds of disposal and

the Company

invests

in a

diversified

other returns of capital. Of the 3.3% unquoted investments, 3.0% was in China and 0.3% was

portfolio of shares and related securities in

in Asia.

biotechnology companies on a worldwide

Source: All portfolio information sourced from Frostrow Capital LLP

basis. The Company will not invest more

than 15% of the value of its gross assets in

any one individual stock at the time of

acquisition. No more than 10% of gross

Discrete Performance - Calendar Years (%)

assets will be invested in unquoted

investments at the time of acquisition. This

Percentage Growth

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

YTD

limit

includes

any

investment or

12 Month Return

commitment to invest in private equity funds

managed by OrbiMed or an affiliate thereof.

NAV

47.4

52.4

-23.1

-13.6

-7.2

14.2

Investments or commitments to invest in

Share Price

48.5

67.7

-24.6

-22.1

-3.5

10.9

such private equity funds will be limited to

US15m, after the deduction of proceeds of

Index

19.6

22.1

0.2

-0.3

-1.7

2.5

disposal and other returns of capital. The

Company's borrowing policy is that

borrowings will not exceed 20% of value of

the Company's net assets. The Company

Standardised Discrete Performance (%)

may be unable to invest directly or

efficiently in certain countries or share

Percentage Growth 12

Feb 19-

Feb 20-

Feb 21-

Feb 22-

Feb 23-

classes. In these circumstances, the

Month Return

Feb 20

Feb 21

Feb 22

Feb 23

Feb 24

Company may gain exposure by investing

indirectly through swaps or other derivative

NAV

29.7

52.9

-39.0

5.7

8.8

instruments. Exposure to these financial

Share Price

23.8

69.2

-38.6

-2.3

8.9

instruments will count towards and be

subject

to the

following

limits: Derivative

Index

5.2

26.0

-15.7

12.9

4.2

transactions (excluding equity swaps) can

be used to mitigate risk and/or enhance

Past performance is not a guide to future performance. The value of investments and the

return and will be restricted to an aggregate

income from them may fall as well as rise and is not guaranteed.

net exposure of 5% of the value of the gross

Source: NAV (total return; fully diluted) & Share Price (total return) - Morningstar. Index -

assets measured at the time of the relevant

transaction; Equity swaps may be used for

Bloomberg.

efficient portfolio management

purposes

and aggregate net counterparty exposure through a combination of derivatives and equity swap transactions is restricted to 12% of the value of the gross assets of the Company at the time of the transaction.

biotechgt.com @biotechgt

The Biotech Growth Trust PLC

Information as at 29 February 2024

Return vs Volatility (Annualised since Date of Appointment of OrbiMed) - Chart (%)

Biotech Growth (Price)

NASDAQ Biotehcnology Index (total return)

15

14

13

Return12

11

10
18.0	19.0	20.0	21.0	22.0	23.0	24.0	25.0
				Volatility

Commentary

In February, the NAV per share was up 10.3%, the share price was up 7.6% and the benchmark NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (sterling adjusted) was up 1.8%.

Small and midcap biotech continued the upward momentum that this segment has demonstrated since last fall. The strength was likely due to a combination of recent mergers and acquisitions ("M&A") activity, obesity-themed moves and a macro backdrop that remains favorable for risk assets. Also, the rise in healthcare stocks has forced some short sellers to buy shares to close out their positions, further pushing up prices. Investors are increasingly optimistic that elevated interest rates will not cause a recession in the U.S. (a so-called "soft landing"). Anticipated reductions in interest rates later this year, as predicted by the Federal Reserve itself, continue to boost appetite for higher-risk,higher-rewarddevelopment-stage biotech companies. Given our continued overweight positioning in small cap biotech, the Company was able to capture outsized gains versus our benchmark index. We believe the long-awaited valuation recovery in small and midcap biotech is underway and should continue in the months ahead.

A couple of M&A transactions were announced in February. Novartis agreed to acquire MorphoSys for about $2.9 billion and will gain access to pelabresib, an investigational treatment for a type of bone marrow cancer, and tulmimetostat, a potential therapy for patients with solid tumors or lymphomas. The offer represents an 18% premium to MorphoSys' last closing price. Gilead Sciences reached a deal to acquire CymaBay Therapeutics for $4.3bn, representing a 27% premium to its last closing price. Gilead will gain access to CymaBay's seladelpar, which had a successful Phase 3 trial readout in primary biliary cholangitis. While the Company did not own either of the targets mentioned above, the transactions illustrate the continued robust M&A activity in the emerging biotech space. The trend continues to be driven by Big Pharma's urgency to acquire new biotech drugs to offset expected revenue losses from patent expirations of key products.

Janux Therapeutics, Tyra Biosciences, and Vera Therapeutics were the largest positive contributors to performance during the month. Janux outperformed following the release of positive Phase 1 data in prostate cancer, which suggested that the company may have a best-in-class asset for prostate cancer. The data also suggested that Janux's technology could be successfully applied to additional tumor types such as lung, kidney, and head and neck cancer. Tyra outperformed following the announcement of a financing, which was completed in February. Investors are looking forward to first-in-human updates later this year from the company's metastatic bladder cancer clinical program. Vera shares appreciated after announcing in January positive data for its drug atacicept in IgA nephropathy, which showed stabilization of kidney function.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Biogen, and Amgen were the largest negative contributors to performance during the month. The share price of Ionis fell on investor nervousness due to a clinical trial design change and data delay for a competitor developing a similar drug to Ionis in transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy. Biogen underperformed in February due to underwhelming quarterly sales for its Alzheimer's drug Leqembi. Amgen's stock price declined on the publication of Phase 1 data for one of the company's obesity compounds that raised questions about its efficacy and safety profile.

Codes

Sedol	0038551
ISIN	GB0000385517

Legal Entity Identifier (LEI)

549300Z41EP32MI2DN29

Global Intermediary

Identification Number (GIIN)

U1MQ70.99999.SL.826

Bloomberg	BIOG LN
EPIC	BIOG

Discount / Premium Control

Mechanism

The Directors have adopted an active discount management policy to establish and support an improved rating in the Company's shares through the use of share buybacks, with a view to limiting the discount to NAV per share at which the shares trade to no more than 6%. Shares bought back will be cancelled.

How to Contact Us

Frostrow Capital LLP

25 Southampton Buildings

London, WC2A 1AL

Tel.: [phone]

Fax: [phone]

Website:www.frostrow.com

Email:[e-mail]

biotechgt.com @biotechgt

The Biotech Growth Trust PLC

Information as at 29 February 2024

Risk Warnings

This document is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer or invitation to purchase shares in the Company and has not been prepared in connection with any such offer or invitation. Before investing in the Company, or any other investment product, you should satisfy yourself as to its suitability and the risks involved, and you may wish to consult a financial adviser.

Any return you receive depends on future market performance and is uncertain. The Company does not seek any protection from future market performance so you could lose some or all of your investment. Shares of the Company are bought and sold on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The price you pay or receive, like other listed shares, is determined by supply and demand and may be at a discount or premium to the underlying net asset value of the Company. Usually, at any given time, the price you pay for a share will be higher than the price you could sell it. For further information on the principal risks the Company is exposed to please refer to the Company's Annual Report or Investor Disclosure Document available at www.biotechgt.com. The Company can borrow to purchase investments, this could potentially magnify any losses or gains made by the Company.

Target Market

The Company is suitable for investors seeking an investment that aims to deliver total returns over the longer term (at least five years), is compatible with the needs for retail clients, professional clients and eligible counterparties, and is eligible for all distribution channels.

The Company may not be suitable for investors who are concerned about short-term volatility and performance, have low or no risk tolerance or are looking for capital protection, who are seeking a guaranteed or regular income, or a predictable return profile. The Company does not offer capital protection.

Value Assessment

Frostrow Capital LLP has conducted an annual Value Assessment on the Company in line with Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules set out in the Consumer Duty regulation. The Assessment focuses on the nature of the product, including benefits received and its quality, limitations that are part of the product, expected total costs to clients and target market considerations.

Within this, the assessment considers quality of services, performance of the Company (against both benchmark and peers), total fees (including management fees and entry and exit fees as applicable to the Company), and also considers whether vulnerable consumers are able to receive fair value from the product.

Frostrow Capital LLP concluded that the Company is providing value based on the above assessment.

Important Information

The Biotech Growth Trust PLC is a public limited company whose shares are premium listed on the LSE and is registered with HMRC as an investment trust. The Company has an indeterminate life, although shareholders consider and vote on the continuation of the Company every five years (the next such vote will be held will be held in 2025).

This financial promotion is issued by Frostrow Capital LLP which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA").

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