BB Biotech (BION.SWX), the £2bn Swiss biotechnology fund, last month celebrated its 30th anniversary and fund manager Dr Daniel Koller spoke to me about why he is confident the investment company will return to winning ways.

Since launch in November 1993 to the end of September, in local currency terms the investment company generated a 1,815% total return to Swiss investors, beating the 1,175% gain in Swiss francs from the US Nasdaq Biotech index (note: the figures would be different for UK investors in sterling).

The last two years have been more difficult, however, with the shares falling around a quarter in the growth selloff caused by rising inflation and interest rates. 

Nevertheless, Koller, head of investment at Bellevue Asset Management, based on Lake Zurich, is optimistic this setback will in time be seen as a blip. He believes the US and mid-cap focused portfolio will recover as mergers and acquisitions return to the sector and investors revive their faith in the long-term growth potential from innovative healthcare discoveries.

In the interview, Koller (below), discusses the main trends in biotechnology he has seen in the past two decades working on the portfolio, including the identification of the first human genome, the emergence of pioneering oncology treatments to fight cancer and mRNA vaccines used to combat Covid. He also challenges the market’s bearish view of Moderna, saying the drugs developer is ‘on the comeback road’ and has much more to offer than the Covid-19 vaccine for which it is now famous.