Bianca Ogden, a prominent figure at Platinum Asset Management, has forged a distinguished investment career, rooted in a challenging early experience. Recruited in 2004 from Johnson & Johnson, where she worked as a scientist, her very first stock pick for the Platinum International Health Sciences Fund was German pharmaceutical giant Merck. Weeks after her investment, the stock plunged over 20 per cent when news emerged about Merck’s anti-inflammatory drug Vioxx increasing heart attack risks. This dramatic downturn, and founder Kerr Neilson’s challenge to “double up,” instilled in Ogden the crucial lesson that confronting challenges defines a company’s true mettle, shaping her resilient investment philosophy.
Three years later, Ogden was promoted to portfolio manager, a role she holds today. Under her stewardship, the fund has delivered exceptional results, boasting a 48 per cent return in the last 12 months, significantly outperforming its benchmark’s 5.1 per cent loss. With a PhD in virology, Ogden possesses a unique edge in biotech investing. This was evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, where her fund held a substantial position in Moderna. Moderna develops signature vaccine technology that mimics part of a virus to teach the body how to fight illness. Her foresight led to increased investment as the pandemic emerged, propelling Moderna’s shares to peak significantly, though she later observed the cooling “Arctic winter” in biotech stocks.
Ogden’s investment approach marries deep scientific understanding with commercial acumen. This dual perspective is reflected in recent successes like Nasdaq-listed Terns Pharmaceuticals, which develops a targeted drug for resistant forms of chronic myeloid leukemia. Ogden invested last year, impressed by early clinical data, and the stock surged 1,699 per cent before Merck agreed to buy the company. Another strong pick, Apogee Therapeutics, which works on increasing the longevity of injectable antibodies for certain disorders, has also seen a remarkable 328 per cent increase since its 2023 IPO. Ogden identifies patterns from past investments, noting that understanding the disease, its players, and market gaps are crucial.
