{"podcast":{"title":"Proactive - Interviews for investors","slug":"proactive-interviews-for-investors-1457173","podcast_index_feed_id":1457173,"rss_url":"https://feeds.simplecast.com/xjpdm5C9","website_url":"https://proactive-interviews-for-investors.simplecast.com","image_url":"https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/92f9cc71-7d4c-4ec0-a2f3-6a6b31027b4c/3fd3b604-35cf-4701-acde-0f1fdf33d67a/3000x3000/square-with-type.jpg?aid=rss_feed","author":"Proactive Investors","episode_count":600,"summary":"Welcome to the Proactive podcast channel – the destination for breaking news on growth companies and up to the minute market coverage. Here we plug you into what’s new and exciting in the world of business.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-28T06:17:38.329793+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/proactive-interviews-for-investors-1457173"},"episode":{"title":"IBT portfolio manager: biotech M&A boom set to continue as big pharma hunts","slug":"ibt-portfolio-manager-biotech-m-a-boom-set-to-continue-as-big-pharma-hunts","published_at":"2026-07-10T09:11:59+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/proactive-interviews-for-investors-1457173/ibt-portfolio-manager-biotech-m-a-boom-set-to-continue-as-big-pharma-hunts","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/proactive-interviews-for-investors-1457173","url":"https://proactive-interviews-for-investors.simplecast.com/episodes/20260709-international-biotechnology-trust-plc-1-hWAbH2Kc","audio_url":"https://cdn.simplecast.com/media/audio/transcoded/1068c7db-2e26-4675-9674-33cc0c49ccdc/b96906c8-b386-47e4-a142-589b24379f8e/episodes/audio/group/cfe88a96-83ce-4565-9872-1373e6deb138/group-item/191b8e96-d756-475f-8045-0ec15f26b12e/128_default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=xjpdm5C9","summary":"International Biotechnology Trust (LSE:IBT) portfolio manager Ailsa Craig joined Proactive's Stephen Gunnion to discuss the surge in biotech M&A activity, following Vertex Pharmaceuticals' acquisition of Crinetics at a 102% premium. Craig said the deal wave reflects a structural dynamic: most new drugs now originate from biotech, while large pharmaceutical companies face a significant wave of patent expiries and hold substantial cash resources. Vertex's move into rare diseases and chronic therapies makes strategic sense as it diversifies beyond its cystic fibrosis franchise — and the premium paid reflected Crinetics' strong independent position. \"They would be perfectly happy to stay independent. And Vertex had to pay up if they wanted to buy them,\" Craig said. She outlined how IBT evaluates investments using many of the same criteria as pharma business development teams — focusing on chronic therapies, attractive valuations, strong intellectual property and companies capable of remaining independent, making them compelling acquisition targets. Around 40% of IBT's portfolio currently meets these criteria, compared with around 10% of its benchmark - a positioning Craig believes leaves the trust well placed to benefit from continued industry consolidation. Visit the Proactive YouTube channel for more interviews with leading companies and investment experts. If you enjoyed this video, please like, subscribe to the channel and enable notifications so you never miss future content. #InternationalBiotechnologyTrust #Biotech #Biotechnology #AilsaCraig #HealthcareInvesting #BiotechStocks #Pharma #Vertex #Crinetics #MergersAndAcquisitions #Investing #StockMarket #LifeSciences #PatentExpiry #HealthcareInnovation #ProactiveInvestors","meta_description":"International Biotechnology Trust (LSE:IBT) portfolio manager Ailsa Craig joined Proactive's Stephen Gunnion to discuss the surge in biotech M&A activ…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":169,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/proactive-interviews-for-investors-1457173/episodes/ibt-portfolio-manager-biotech-m-a-boom-set-to-continue-as-big-pharma-hunts/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/proactive-interviews-for-investors-1457173/ibt-portfolio-manager-biotech-m-a-boom-set-to-continue-as-big-pharma-hunts.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}