RTW Biotech Opportunities Ltd (LON:RTW) has announced that its monthly factsheet and quarterly letter as at 31 October 2026 is now available.
The Company’s unaudited net asset value attributable to its ordinary shares as at 31 October 2026 was US$2.67 per share, a decrease of -1.1% from the previous month vs +2.9% for the Nasdaq Biotech Index and -3.8% for the Russell 2000 Biotech Index. The Company has delivered +13.9% annualised NAV per ordinary share performance since launch in October 2019.
Top 10 Positions
| Holding | Public / Private | % NAV |
| CG Oncology | Public “CGON” | 9.4% |
| Oruka | Public “ORKA” | 6.2% |
| Xencor | Public “XNCR” | 5.8% |
| Argenx | Public “ARGX” | 5.7% |
| Corxel | Private | 4.8% |
| Spyre | Public “SYRE” | 4.2% |
| Tango | Public “TNGX” | 3.9% |
| Kailera | Public “KLRA” | 3.8% |
| Erasca | Public “ERAS” | 3.6% |
| Zai Lab | Public “ZLAB” | 3.3% |
Top YTD Contributors and Detractors
| Holding | % NAV | Contribution |
| Oruka | 6.2% | +4.0% |
| UroGen | 3.1% | +3.7% |
| Spyre | 4.2% | +3.3% |
| Celcuity | 2.9% | (2.0%) |
| Ensoma | 0.0% | (1.9%) |
| Ultragenyx | 1.0% | (1.6%) |
Note: % NAV as at period end reflects gross economic exposure as a percentage of NAV.
COMPANY UPDATE
In light of the material uptick seen in sector M&A, over the twelve months 31 October 2026, RTW Bio repurchased 7.6 million shares, equivalent to $16.7 million. The Company continues to apply a disciplined evaluation framework to determine the optimal capital allocation framework.
SECTOR UPDATE
Biotech indices were broadly unchanged in October, but the aggregate hides a wide gap in performance between companies, where leadership came from large-cap biopharma and from commercial-stage biotechs with visible earnings and cash generation. Pre-revenue companies were more exposed to a rising interest rate environment. Technical selling added to the pressure on widely held positions during the first half of the month, as investors reduced risk across the sector, easing towards month-end. We read October as a pause driven by positioning, with the sector’s fundamentals unchanged.
Capital markets activity was strong over the month. Twenty deals priced, including seven IPOs, raising over $4.4 billion in gross proceeds. The IPO window remains open, with 29 IPOs completed year-to-date against eight in the whole of 2025. M&A was quiet, with two acquisitions totalling $2.8 billion.
The ESMO cancer conference produced useful data for oncology. Results were presented for Moderna’s cancer vaccine in melanoma, Tango’s pancreatic cancer trial, Xencor’s renal cell carcinoma trial and Amgen’s drug in first-line small cell lung cancer.
Our medium-term view is unchanged. We expect biotech M&A to remain elevated, given patent expiries and the cash flows generated by obesity drugs. IPO volumes are normalising and aftermarket performance is healthy. Drug pricing policy uncertainty has largely resolved, and we continue to see limited to no impact from MFN pricing on the US businesses of our portfolio companies. AI and the growing contribution of Chinese science are improving productivity in drug discovery, and a growing number of emerging biotechs now have rapidly growing revenues. We expect the current rate tightening cycle to be shorter and less significant than in previous cycles.
PORTFOLIO UPDATE
On 16 October, private portfolio company City Therapeutics began trading on Nasdaq (ticker “CTY”) following an upsized IPO of 11.1 million shares at $18, raising gross proceeds of $200 million. City is developing RNA interference medicines, with a lead programme designed to prevent harmful blood clots. Shares closed at $22.40 on the first day of trading, a 70% step-up to RTW Bio’s 30 September holding value and a 129% step-up from cost. RTW Bio first invested in the Series A in December 2024 and again in the Series B in May 2026. As at 31 October 2026, City represented 0.6% of RTW Bio’s NAV.
On 23 October, private portfolio company Lycia Therapeutics began trading on Nasdaq (ticker “LYCA”) following an upsized IPO of 17.6 million shares at $18, raising gross proceeds of c. $318 million. Lycia’s medicines are designed to remove disease-causing proteins from the bloodstream, with lead programmes in food allergy and Graves’ disease. Shares closed up 67% at $30 on the first day of trading, a 229% step-up to RTW Bio’s 30 September holding value and a 233% step-up from cost. RTW Bio first invested in the Series B in September 2021, participated in the Series C in April 2024, and invested a further $1.4 million in the Series D in June 2026. As at 31 October 2026, Lycia represented 2.9% of RTW Bio’s NAV.
On 27 October, Corxel announced that its US business, Corxel US, had agreed to go public through a merger with Amanat Acquisition Corp (Nasdaq: AMAN), a special purpose acquisition company. Corxel US’s lead candidate, CX11, is a once-daily oral treatment for obesity, shortly to begin a global Phase 3 trial. The transaction is expected to raise gross proceeds of c. $377 million, including an oversubscribed c. $300 million PIPE, and to fund the combined company through 2029. Completion is expected in the first half of 2027. RTW Investments created Corxel and RTW Bio first invested in the seed round in February 2020. RTW Bio will retain a separate holding in Corxel’s parent company, which includes the stroke programme JX10. As at 31 October 2026, Corxel represented 4.8% of RTW Bio’s NAV, valued at c. $43.9million.
