Portfolio company Dicerna Pharmaceuticals announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with pharma company Novo Nordisk under which Novo Nordisk will acquire Dicerna for $ 38,25 per share and a total equity value of $ 3,3 billion, representing an 80% premium compared to Dicerna’s share price at closing on Nov 17, 2021.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the only two options doctors had available to treat cancer were surgery and/or radiation therapy. At that time, cancers that couldn’t be removed or irradiated, because of their position or because they involved blood cells, were deemed untreatable.

Since its inception, Aescap has taken environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into consideration by analyzing sustainability impact of its portfolio companies and potential new investments. By continuously doing so, Aescap aims to encourage companies in our sector to act with the well-being of people and our planet in mind. The fund focuses its investments in companies developing treatments that are aimed to significantly improve the life of patients and benefit society as a whole.

Innovation in the medical field has strongly accelerated in the last century and we see it continuing at an even higher pace going forward. In this technology showcase we will highlight one of the most advanced of such technologies, RNA therapeutics. We will describe the rationale behind this technology, as well as its strength and weaknesses compared to traditional medicines and other novel approaches.

After operating under the name Aescap 2.0 for almost 5 years, we feel our new name better represents our investment focus and the impact our companies have on the life of patients in need.

Just after we sent out our Q3 newsletter, we received the news from our portfolio company Myokardia that it will be acquired by big pharma player Bristol Myers Squibb for $13.1 billion in cash. This offer of $225 per share represents a 61% premium from the closing share price last Friday.