Company: HQL
Filing Date: 2025-12-08
Form Type: N-CSR
Source: 0001104659-25-119341
Chunk: 9

Company: abrdn Life Sciences Investors
Filing Date: 2025-12-08
Form: N-CSR
Chunk 9
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 These positions were established for a variety of reasons, including near-term clinical data events and commercial opportunities. Moving into 2025, we made several changes to the portfolio. The portfolio management team identified relative value differentials favoring smaller-cap equities over large-cap pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Additionally, concerns over pending tariffs led us to adopt a more cautious stance toward the large-cap pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector. Examples of new initiations included Incyte, Arbutus Biopharma, Immunic, Cidara Therapeutics, ARS Pharmaceuticals, Centessa Pharmaceuticals, Mereo BioPharma, NewAmsterdam Pharma, Tempus AI, Korro Bio, and Sionna Therapeutics. Subsequently, we initiated Vericel Corporation to gain exposure to the company’s niche in regenerative medicine. The company’s cell therapy franchise, focused on cartilage repair and burn care, has delivered accelerating revenue growth, with upcoming product developments such as expanded indications for pediatric populations. We also initiated Twist Bioscience Corporation to gain exposure to innovation in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) production. The company provides gene synthesis and genomics tools for research and development. We introduced Disc Medicine Inc to gain exposure to a biotechnology company with a pipeline focused on haematology. Disc Medicine is advancing therapies for rare blood disorders, including positive mid-stage data in erythropoietic disorders. Later in the period, the fund added positions in Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Arcus Biosciences, Aquestive Therapeutics, Equillium, Shattuck Labs, and Apogee Therapeutics, targeting firms with strong balance sheets. As part of the fund’s venture activities, we made two new investments into two pre-public, venture-backed drug companies: Nuvig Therapeutics and Aviceda Therapeutics. We also made a new investment in a pre-public, venture-backed company, Abcuro. Conversely, we sold several positions. These disposals included Exelixis after the company won a patent lawsuit, Apellis Pharmaceuticals on concerns about the ultimate market opportunity for its drug in geographic atrophy, and both Illumina and Arcellx after strong share-price performance. Some sales were motivated by a lack of confidence in the companies' prospects, while others resulted from failed clinical trials. Also, in line with increasing the fund’s allocation to smaller-cap equities and decreasing its allocation to large-cap equities; we sold some positions, including Biogen, Eli Lilly, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Intra-Cellular Therap