Interim Results-Replacement

Intl. Biotechnology Trust PLC 20 June 2000 The issuer has made the following amendment to the Interim Results announcement released today at 15.05 under RNS No 5635M. The following paragraph was omitted and can now be found above the Notes to editors: Issued by International Biotechnology Trust plc and approved by Rothschild Asset Management, which is regulated by IMRO. As IBT invests in the biotechnology sector, investments in IBT should be regarded both as long term and as carrying a high level of financial risk. Accordingly share value may fall as well as rise and investors may not get back the amount invested. All other details remain unchanged. The full corrected version is shown below. ------------------------------------------------------------------- INTERIM RESULTS FOR PERIOD ENDED 28 FEBRUARY 2000 Chairman's statement Introduction This report provides the unaudited highlights of International Biotechnology Trust plc ('IBT') for the six months ended 29 February 2000, together with details of the activities during that period. Overview The latter part of 1999 and start of 2000 saw a significant upturn in the biotechnology sector both in the US and Europe. For the six months ended 29 February 2000, the NASDAQ Biotech Index rose by 135% and the Bloomberg UK Biotech Index rose by 95%. These rises were fuelled at least in part by news surrounding the near completion of the Human Genome Project and by investors in search of substantial growth returning to the biotech sector from the Internet IPO arena. IBT performed extremely well during this period, with its share price rising 481% from 56.0p on 31 August 1999 to 325.5p on 29 February 2000, thus substantially outperforming sector indices on both sides of the Atlantic. While this investment environment was obviously welcome, the optimism seen since the start of the year has abated, and must be tempered by a realistic approach to the sector. IBT continues to take a strategic view of the industry and sees its core investments as long-term. As was predicted in the last annual report, much of the activity during the six months to the end of February was directed at managing the IBT portfolio and realising divestment opportunities timed to maximise return for our shareholders. Since February, IBT has continued to reap benefits and gained further substantial returns from divestments, thus being in a position to invest in the value generating companies of the future. Investment activity In February, IBT made a significant new investment in OSI Pharmaceuticals, a US-based drug discovery company with a substantial pipeline of product opportunities for commercialisation with the pharmaceutical industry. IBT invested US$8.5 million (£5.3 million) in OSI, taking up 0.5 million of the 3.325 million new shares being issued as part of the company's US$56 million private placement. Prior to this, IBT's core investment activity had been follow-on investments in existing portfolio companies. In January, IBT invested US$2 million (£1.2 million as part of an US$18 million private placement of shares by Onyx Pharmaceuticals. Onyx's focus is on the development of novel therapeutics based upon the mechanisms underlying the genetics of human disease, with an emphasis on cancer. Its lead product, ONYX-015, is based on the proprietary discovery that adenoviruses can be genetically modified to selectively replicate in and kill cells deficient in p53 tumour suppressor and not in normal cells. IBT also made a follow-on investment in CeNeS Pharmaceuticals plc in December of £250,000. IBT received CeNeS shares in November 1999 following the company's merger with IBT investee company Core Group plc. CeNeS is focused on developing drugs for CNS disorders and pain control and on the development of controlled release drug delivery products. IBT also made a follow-on investment in GelTex Pharmaceuticals and exercised its warrants in Corvas International. During the period, new non-core investments were made in Ares-Serono, Alza, Amgen, Genzyme General Division and Sequenom. Divestment activity IBT realised a significant return on its investment in SUGEN Inc following its acquisition by Pharmacia & Upjohn in September 1999. The proceeds for IBT's holding were some US$22.8 million, representing a 194% increase in the value of IBT's investment in SUGEN. IBT then exited Pharmacia & Upjohn at a value of US$26.1 million (£16.1 million) which represented a further capital gain of 14.5%, and an internal rate of return over the five years of 36% per annum. Divestments were made of some or all of the holdings in Cadus Pharmaceuticals, Corvas International, Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Medarex, Microcide Pharmaceuticals, MorphoSys and Sequenom as well as warrants in Biocompatibles International. These provided IBT with increased liquidity for further follow-on or new investments. Activity subsequent to reporting period In March, IBT completed divestments of its holdings in Medarex and MorphoSys, which realised significant returns on the value of IBT's investments of 915% and 1,469% respectively. These represented rates of return on investment of 73% and 185% per annum. In April, IBT also completed its divestment of Cubist Pharmaceuticals, showing an uplift in value of 346%, and an annualised internal rate of return of 84%, and divested a proportion of its holding in Corixa Corporation. Since February, IBT has made substantial new investments in seven companies. In March, investments were announced in Canadian-based AnorMED and German biotechnology company Axxima Pharmaceuticals. AnorMED discovers and develops therapeutic and diagnostic applications of metal complexes and metal binding compounds, with an emphasis on life threatening disease and acute treatments. IBT invested CAN$3.98 million (£1.74 million). Since the initial investment IBT has increased its holding. Axxima has developed proprietary drugs that are based on its revolutionary approach to generate a 'Signal Transduction Firewall' against pathogens. IBT invested DM3.5 million (£1.1 million) as part of a DM20 million financing round. In April, IBT invested US$10 million (£6.3 million) in US-based Delsys Pharmaceuticals, a drug manufacturing and delivery company. The company's Accudep technology aims to reduce time to market for orally delivered drugs and bring improvements in product quality and safety. IBT was the lead investor in the US$26 million private placement of preferred stock. In May, IBT invested CAN$3.9 million (£1.7 million) in another Canadian-based company, ImmGenics Pharmaceuticals, and US$3 million (£2.0 million) in eBioinformatics, a leading bioinformatics Application Services Provider (ASP). ImmGenics develops and intends to commercialise antibody-based therapeutic and diagnostic products for the treatment and diagnosis of a wide variety of diseases, including infectious diseases, cancer and inflammatory and autoimmune disorders. The company's SLAM Technology provides a powerful route for generating fully humanised, high affinity antibodies against infectious disease targets. eBioinformatics is the first ASP to focus on providing bioinformatics services to the academic and biotechnology communities. Bioinformatics, the use of computers to analyse biotechnological data, is now a key element of both basic scientific research and new drug development. eBioinformatics enables any researcher to take advantage of state-of-the-art bioinformatics resources over the Internet, using a unique, low-cost, pay-as-you-go access model. The first half of June saw two further investments: CAN$12 million (£5.4 million) in Vancouver based Inflazyme Pharmaceuticals, and US$7.5 million (£5.0 million) in transatlantic ValiGen. Inflazyme is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialisation of therapies to treat serious inflammatory diseases including asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease. To date, Inflazyme's drug discovery efforts have led to the discovery of three novel series of compounds, which are being developed as new therapies to treat serious inflammatory diseases. ValiGen was established through the recent merger of ValiGene (Paris, France) and Kimeragen (Newtown, Pennsylvania, USA), creating a transatlantic life sciences company. ValiGen's integrated portfolio of bioinformatics, genomics and chimeraplast technologies enables the identification and validation of novel targets for both pharmaceutical and agricultural products. The company is seen as a strong transatlantic player in the functional genomics arena with a competitive technology platform and a foothold in both European and US markets. Since February, follow-on investments have also been made in Biocompatibles International and Targeted Genetics Corporation. Three non-core investments were made in Biogen, Boston Scientific and Chiron. Financial performance As previously highlighted, the period saw a considerable rise in IBT's share price. The Net Asset Value (NAV) also increased over the period from £69.2 million to £350.6 million, a rise of 407%. At 29 February, the discount between the diluted NAV per share and the share price had narrowed to 18% (from 29% as at 31 August 1999). As at 15 June 2000, IBT's share price was 232.5p, showing a decline of 28.6% since 29 February 2000. This reflects an overall downturn in the biotechnology sector, and once again highlights the volatile nature of this sector, and the importance of spreading risk. Revenue and dividends Your Company's policy is to pay out by way of dividend only those earnings available for distribution; there are no earnings available for distribution. It remains the view of your Directors that the best long-term returns are likely to come from capital appreciation of assets. Consequently, the Board does not expect to pay a dividend in respect of the current financial year. Outlook IBT achieved considerable success in the six months to February 2000. With market sentiment improved and IBT's proven ability to select the better investment opportunities in the global biotechnology industry, we are confident that we can build on these successes in the future. Your Company will seek to maintain a broad approach to investment in order to reduce the inherent risk of investing in biotechnology. Since the reporting period we have realised selected investments and continued investing to build for the future, while within our portfolio, companies continue to mature and build value through the discovery, development and marketing of new products and through strategic M&A activity. Extraordinary general meeting On 22 May 2000, Millennium Partners, a 10.06 per cent shareholder, requisitioned an extraordinary general meeting, notice of which was sent to shareholders on 12 June 2000. Your Board will be writing to you shortly setting out its views and recommendations on the resolutions. Shareholders have been advised meanwhile to take no action. John Green-Armytage 19 June 2000 Financial highlights (unaudited) Summarised Statement of Total Return Six months ended Year ended Six months ended 29 February 2000 31 August 1999 28 February 1999 £ £ £ Revenue return Dividends 69,253 - - Income from current asset investments 362,997 227,963 154,402 Deposit interest 40,177 6,029 5,353 Underwriting commission and commitment fees - 2,589 - Administrative expenses 472,427 236,581 159,755 (1,762,369) (1,780,801) (714,178) Net loss on ordinary activities before finance costs and taxation (1,289,942) (1,544,220) (554,423) Interest payable (4,440) (5,705) (3,403) Loss on ordinary activities before taxation (1,294,382) (1,549,925) (557,826) Taxation on ordinary activities - - - Net revenue loss after taxation (1,294,382) (1,549,925) (557,826) Capital return realised gains/(losses) on investments 66,405,356 (1,749,044) 3,763,615) Incentive fee provision (8,651,152) - - Increase/(decrease) in unrealised appreciation on investments 224,908,944 24,678,159 13,033,820 Net capital return 282,663,148 22,929,115 9,270,205 Total return 281,368,766 21,379,190 8,712,379 Return/(loss) per share Ordinary shares Basic Revenue (1.47)p (1.76)p (0.63)p Capital 321.20p 26.06p 10.53p 319.73p 24.30p 9.90p Diluted Revenue (1.47)p (1.76)p (0.63)p Capital 321.20p 26.06p 10.53p 319.73p 24.30p 9.90p Balance sheet (extracts) As at As at As at 29 February 2000 31 August 1999 28 February 1999 £ £ £ Fixed asset investments 298,349,259 67,247,880 52,109,116 Current asset investments 51,263,072 2,295,189 4,594,837 349,612,331 69,543,069 56,703,953 Other net assets/ (liabilities) 946,684 (352,820) (180,515) Net assets 350,559,015 69,190,249 56,523,438 Net asset value per share Basi Ordinary shares 398.35p 78.62p 64.23p Diluted Ordinary shares 396.25p 78.62p 64.23p Notes 1 These accounts have been prepared using accounting policies consistent with those used for the audited financial statements as at 31 August 1999. 2. The warrants issued by IBT had an exercise price of £1, however the shares of IBT had been trading at a fair value below the exercise price. As such they were anti-dilutive and are not required to be taken into the EPS calculation. The warrants expired on 31 January 1999. 3. The dilution for the period ended 29 February 2000 arises from an incentive fee provision not applicable in comparable figures. 4. The comparative figures for the financial year ended 31 August 1999 are extracted from the Company's statutory accounts for that financial year. Those accounts have been reported on by the Company's auditors and delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The report of the auditors was unqualified and did not contain a statement under section 237(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 1985. 5. Administrative expenses include general expenses and a fee payable to the Manager. Under a management agreement dated 13 April 1994, as amended, a fee of 1.375% per annum is payable to the Manager quarterly in arrears, based on the Net Asset Value of the Company at the end of the quarter excluding those funds which are managed by the Manager. For more information please contact: Jeremy Curnock Cook, Director International Biotechnology Trust plc Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7634 2881 E-mail: tanneke.zeeuw@ramasset.co.uk Financial Media Enquiries: Sophie Pender-Cudlip / Jonathan Birt Financial Dynamics Tel: +44 (0) 20 7831 3113 E-mail: sophie.pender-cudlip@fd.com Trade Media Enquiries: Katja Stout HCC De Facto Group plc Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7496 3300 E-mail: k.stout@hccdf.co.uk Issued by International Biotechnology Trust plc and approved by Rothschild Asset Management, which is regulated by IMRO. As IBT invests in the biotechnology sector, investments in IBT should be regarded both as long term and as carrying a high level of financial risk. Accordingly share value may fall as well as rise and investors may not get back the amount invested. Notes to editors 1. International Biotechnology Trust plc www.internationalbiotrust.com International Biotechnology Trust plc (IBT) was launched to take advantage of the investment opportunities arising in mid-stage life science companies, with emphasis on investing in relatively few companies, and involving a close working relationship with investee companies through the provision of strategic management support and sector expertise. International Biotechnology Trust - Key Data * Founded in 1994 * £262.38 million net asset value of investment at 20 June 2000 * Listed on London Stock Exchange (LSE.L) * Managed by the bioscience unit at Rothschild Asset Management * Invests primarily in mid-stage biotechnology companies * Investment criteria - sound technology platform - under-resourced - good prospects for commercialisation * Further financing may be invested where appropriate * Strategic support and management development provided * 23 core investments 14 in US, 4 in Canada, 3 in UK, 1 in Germany, 1 in France
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