Future of Healthcare Investor Forum
The Citigate Dewe Rogerson Life Sciences team recently co-sponsored the Future of Healthcare Investor Forum alongside J.P. Morgan and Numis and industry partners BIA and OneNucleus.
The conference, hosted by the London Stock Exchange and MedCity on January 29, brought together more than 100 attendees from finance, the life sciences industry, government and public and private companies as well as the media (with journalists including Bloomberg, CNBC, Scrip, Pharma Times and EP Vantage).
The aim of the one-day conference was to highlight the investment opportunity in UK life sciences to generalist and specialist investors providing them with perspectives on the industry and future trends in the UK.
Life Science Minister George Freeman and Kit Malthouse, Deputy Mayor of London for Business and Enterprise, opened the market on the morning of the 29th January, showcasing the UK Government’s commitment to the sector as a vital contributor to the UK’s long-term economic prospects.
CNBC interviewing Life Sciences Minister George Freeman
http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000350411&play=1
With £1.25bn raised in life science IPOs on the London Stock Exchange and the FTSE Healthcare Index outperforming wider indices, 2014 was definitely a ‘Grand Cru’ year for the sector and the hopes are high for 2015.
Cathrin Petty, co-head of healthcare investment banking EMEA at J.P. Morgan, pointed out in an interview with Scrip that the UK has ‘got a critical mass of great quality companies coming through’ and she wants to see them go public in the UK.
A number of those UK life science success stories were showcased at the forum, including Circassia, which raised the largest proceeds with an IPO in 2014, alongside Clinigen, BTG and Retroscreen Virology, which all successfully listed in the UK. Short presentations were also made by high potential unlisted companies, including Acacia Pharma, a Cambridge-based company developing a pipeline of products for supportive care.
Overall the feedback has been extremely positive with the BIA and LSE already talking about the event becoming a regular in the sector’s calendar.