BB Biotech Q2 2026: Strong NAV outperformance driven by disciplined stock selection and portfolio positioning

Media release as at July 24, 2026

BB Biotech Q2 2026: Strong NAV outperformance driven by disciplined stock selection and portfolio positioning

• Q2 2026 NAV delivered a total return of +17.2% in CHF, +17.2% in EUR and +15.9% in USD, outperforming the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (NBI) by 3.5 percentage points in CHF. Share price total return amounted to +9.7% in CHF.
• BB Biotech reported a net profit of CHF 451 mn in Q2 2026, compared with a net loss of CHF 100 mn in Q2 2025, supported by broad-based clinical execution and continued M&A activity across the portfolio.
• Twelve new investments were initiated during the quarter, bringing the portfolio to 39 positions and reflecting accelerating research capabilities and disciplined portfolio construction.
• Three portfolio companies were involved in announced M&A transactions in 2026 to date, reinforcing the strategic value of differentiated biotechnology innovation. Eight portfolio companies have been acquired over the past six quarters.
• BB Biotech revised its annual dividend policy for financial year 2026 onwards, introducing a target dividend yield of 3-5% and aligning shareholder distributions more closely with long-term investment performance.
• The portfolio combines established biotechnology leaders with innovative mid-cap companies while maintaining capital flexibility for future investment opportunities.
• The medium-term outlook for biotechnology remains constructive, supported by scientific innovation, structural M&A demand and a strong pipeline of clinical and regulatory catalysts across the portfolio.

BB Biotech delivered a strong second quarter in 2026, with NAV outperforming the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index by 3.5 percentage points in CHF and the share price generating a total return of 9.7% in CHF. The quarter was characterized by broad-based portfolio deployment including twelve new investments, announced M&A transactions involving portfolio companies and a refined payout policy designed to further strengthen long-term shareholder alignment.

The second quarter unfolded against a backdrop of macroeconomic uncertainty driven by geopolitical tensions and evolving interest-rate expectations. Despite a market increasingly influenced by capital flows rather than company-specific fundamentals, biotechnology recovered strongly. Positive clinical developments across the portfolio, together with continued strategic M&A activity, were the primary drivers of outperformance.

Q2 2026 performance

Currency movements created a modest tailwind for CHF investors as the US dollar appreciated during the quarter. The share price discount to NAV widened to 12.9% at June 30, 2026 despite robust underlying portfolio performance. BB Biotech continues to view sustained NAV outperformance as the most effective long-term driver of shareholder value creation and discount narrowing.

M&A activity confirms structural demand for differentiated innovation

Strategic demand for innovative biotechnology assets remained robust during the second quarter. Large pharmaceutical companies continue to face more than USD 250 billion of revenue at risk to patent expiry through 2030, making external innovation one of the most effective drivers of future growth.

Three transactions involving BB Biotech portfolio companies have been announced in 2026 to date. Terns Pharmaceuticals was acquired by Merck, GSK announced the acquisition of Nuvalent, and subsequent to quarter-end Vertex Pharmaceuticals announced the acquisition of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals. Together, these transactions reinforce the strategic value of differentiated biotechnology innovation and the quality of BB Biotech's portfolio.

Eight BB Biotech portfolio companies have been the subject of announced acquisitions over the past six quarters alone, representing close to a fifth of all acquisitions we have participated in over more than three decades of our history. While M&A is not an investment objective, it remains a natural consequence of investing in companies with differentiated innovation, compelling clinical data and significant commercial potential.
Portfolio construction: disciplined portfolio evolution

The second quarter marked an important evolution in BB Biotech's investment process. Enhanced research capabilities, supported by BB Biotech's proprietary AI-enabled investment platform and dedicated AI expertise, substantially increased the team's ability to evaluate companies faster, more deeply and more systematically. The twelve new investments therefore reflect an enhanced ability to identify, evaluate and prioritize differentiated opportunities rather than any change in investment philosophy or quality threshold.

The new investments span commercial-stage companies, differentiated clinical-stage innovators and selected earlier-stage opportunities across oncology, immunology, neurology and rare disease. Together, they further strengthened the portfolio's diversification while remaining firmly anchored in BB Biotech's focus on differentiated innovation and patient-centricity.

Portfolio activity also included selective exits where investment cases had largely played out or capital could be redeployed more effectively. Together with the twelve new investments, the portfolio closed the quarter with 37 listed holdings and 39 investments in total, representing a meaningful evolution in portfolio composition.

The increased allocation to large-cap biotechnology companies reflects tactical positioning in the current market environment while remaining fully consistent with BB Biotech's long-term investment strategy. Amgen, Argenx, Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Gilead Sciences complement the portfolio's core exposure to innovative mid-cap and emerging biotechnology companies, enhancing resilience while preserving attractive long-term growth potential.

Advancing BB Biotech’s operating system for biotech investing

BB Biotech continues to develop its proprietary AI-enabled operating system for biotech investing, bringing research, portfolio construction and capital allocation into a single environment. The system supports each stage of the investment process within a consistent and disciplined framework, linking long-term scientific and clinical analysis with shorter-term market signals.

Its purpose is not to replace investment judgement, but to strengthen it. By combining scientific evidence, clinical data and market information, the system helps the investment team assess a broader opportunity set, make decisions more rigorously and translate conviction into position sizing more consistently. By capturing assumptions, decisions and subsequent outcomes, the system can learn from experience and improve the quality of its analysis over time.

The platform is becoming an increasingly important part of how BB Biotech conducts research and allocates capital. Its development is a long-term undertaking, but one that we believe can deepen the firm’s institutional knowledge, improve consistency across the investment process and strengthen BB Biotech’s ability to compound its advantages over time.

Refined payout policy strengthens long-term shareholder alignment

The Board of Directors has approved a refinement to BB Biotech's annual payout policy, effective from financial year 2026, with the first payment under the revised framework in spring 2027. Under the new policy, the annual dividend will target a yield of 3-5% of the Company's share price, with the Board determining the precise level each year based on investment performance, NAV development and prevailing market conditions.

The revised framework aligns shareholder distributions more closely with long-term investment performance while providing greater flexibility to retain capital during periods of attractive investment opportunities. The target range builds on BB Biotech's long-standing commitment to shareholder distributions, with annual dividends paid consistently since 2013.

The revised payout policy complements the share buyback program announced in February 2026, together forming BB Biotech's broader capital allocation framework for creating long-term shareholder value.

Outlook

The fundamental case for biotechnology overall remains compelling. Scientific, clinical and product innovation continues to accelerate across oncology, immunology, rare disease and metabolic medicine, while large pharmaceutical companies remain under structural pressure to replenish pipelines through external innovation. Together, these dynamics support a constructive long-term perspective for active biotechnology investing.

At the same time, near-term uncertainty remains elevated. The 2026 US mid-term elections, the evolving regulatory landscape, inflation and interest-rate expectations, as well as broader geopolitical events may continue to influence market sentiment and valuation levels. Following the sector’s strong recovery since April 2025, opportunities with attractive risk-rewards have become more scarce, making disciplined and systematic stock selection more important than ever.

BB Biotech enters the second half with a broadly diversified, high-quality portfolio, approximately 7% of NAV available as cash for deployment and a rich pipeline of upcoming clinical, regulatory and possible M&A. Supported by its permanent capital structure, experienced investment team and increasingly integrated investment platform, BB Biotech is well positioned to capture the next generation of biotechnology innovation and to continue translating scientific innovation into long-term shareholder value.
The interim report as at June 30, 2026, is available under www.bbbiotech.ch.

For further information:
Bellevue Asset Management AG, Theaterstrasse 12, 8001 Zurich, Switzerland, tel. +41 44 267 67 00

Head BB Biotech Team
Dr. Christian Koch

Head Investor Relations
ir@bbbiotech.com
Rachael Burri, rbu@bellevue.ch

Media Relations
Fabienne Tresch, ftr@bellevue.ch

www.bbbiotech.ch

Company profile
BB Biotech AG is an investment company with its registered office in Schaffhausen/Switzerland and listed on the Swiss and German stock exchanges. It has invested in innovative drug developers headquartered primarily in the US and Western Europe. BB Biotech is one of the world’s largest investors in this sector. The competent Board of Directors with its long-standing experience sets the investment strategy and guidelines. Investment decisions are taken by the experienced investment management team of Bellevue Asset Management AG based on their extensive investment research.
Disclaimer 
This release contains forward-looking statements and expectations as well as assessments, beliefs and assumptions. Such statements are based on the current expectations of BB Biotech, its directors and officers, and are, therefore, subject to risks and uncertainties that may change over time. As actual developments may significantly differ, BB Biotech and its directors and officers accept no responsibility in that regard. All forward-looking statements included in this release are made only as of the date of this release and BB Biotech and its directors and officers assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or other factors.
 

Composition of BB Biotech’s portfolio as at June 30, 2026

(in % of securities, rounded values)

 ¹⁾ Unlisted