Neil Woodford is set to benefit from a £25m fundraising round in an early stage medtech company held via his Patient Capital trust.
Genomics will be partnering with US-based pharmaceutical business Vertex in a three-year collaboration extendable up to five years.
The biotech firm represents 0.39% of Woodford’s £763m Patient Capital Trust.
Woodford and other major shareholders are set to benefit from new shares being issued at a higher price.
As part of Genomic’s funding round, Vertex has invested £10.5m in the business, which Portfolio Adviser understands dilutes the existing stakes owned by Woodford and other major shareholders.
Genomics, founded by four scientists from the University of Oxford, says it has one of the largest genetics analysis engines in the world. The firm uses machine learning and statistic algorithms to predict the impact of therapeutic interventions.
IP Group spin-out
Woodford also has a sizeable stake in IP Group, which assisted in the spin-out of Genomics from the University of Oxford.
IP Group is a London-listed firm that commercialises life science and cleantech research produced in UK universities.
Woodford’s firm currently owns 18% of IP Group, making it the second largest shareholder behind Invesco Perpetual which owns 30% of the business via Mark Barnett’s UK equity income funds previously run by Woodford.
Lansdowne Partners and Baillie Gifford are also major shareholders with 11% and 4% stakes respectively.
Woodford and Barnett jointly own a handful of similar venture capital businesses that snap-up intellectual property start-ups, including Allied Minds and Mercia Technologies. Until recently both managers owned Draper Esprit but Woodford sold out of his position earlier this year.
