BNY Mellon Investment Management today announces the launch of the BNY Mellon Smart Cures Innovation Fund, managed by its investment firm Mellon Investments Corporation (Mellon).
Available via the Irish-domiciled fund range, BNY Mellon Global Funds, plc, the BNY Mellon Smart Cures Innovation Fund (the Fund) is a thematic equity fund, investing in companies that are developing gene therapy, gene editing and gene modulation treatments. It also invests in companies that help fuel the development of these drugs, including those which may offer patients years of drug benefit after a single dose.
The Fund expands the existing Mellon innovation thematics range, which includes the BNY Mellon Mobility Innovation Fund and BNY Mellon Blockchain Innovation Fund. It leverages Mellon’s thematic platform and equity research capabilities to provide investors with exposure to cutting-edge areas of healthcare and biotechnology, with the investment team including industry-educated scientists with research and lab experience.
Michael Beveridge, Head of UK Intermediary Distribution at BNY Mellon Investment Management comments on the launch: “The use of gene therapy and tools to treat and potentially cure diseases has been developing at pace over the last 10 years. The current health care crisis has led to increased focus in this area of Biotech. For investors looking to access this growing segment of healthcare solutions, we believe an actively managed thematic approach is more relevant than ever and we are delighted to launch the BNY Mellon Smart Cures Fund.
The fund will be managed by Amanda Birdsey-Benson, PhD and Matthew Jenkin, co-Portfolio Managers at Mellon, who have extensive experience in this area both as practitioners and long-term healthcare investors.”
Amanda Birdsey-Benson, PhD and Matthew Jenkin, co-Portfolio Managers at Mellon, added:
“Since the completion of the human genome project in 2003, scientists have worked to discover how these genes are controlled, how they interact, and how they can cause disease. We are now at the precipice of Biotech 2.0, driven by a transformational technology inflection that should only continue to advance. Scientists and doctors are now able to utilize this information to safely and effectively treat disease at the DNA and RNA level. These new drug classes represent the fastest-growing segment of the biopharma industry. Furthermore, they represent a shift in the approach to healthcare, going beyond simply treating symptoms and starting to treat at the underlying cause of disease with a potential cure as the goal.”
The Fund is available to European institutional and intermediary investors in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France (upon registration), Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal (upon registration), Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, Switzerland (upon registration) and Singapore (private placement only).
