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Woodford takes £16m stake in brain cancer treatment company

Laura Dew
Written By:
Laura Dew
Posted:
Updated:
20/11/2014

Star fund manager Neil Woodford has invested £16m in a US biotech company working on brain tumour treatment.

The manager, who now runs his own firm Woodford Investment Management, has invested £16m in Northwest Biotheraputics which is based in Maryland, the Telegraph reports.

The company said it would use the additional cash to expand its clinical programme where it plans to run Phase II trials in two cancer variants.

It previously produced the first medicine to be fast-tracked by the Department of Health for a brain cancer vaccine.

Woodford has a bias towards biotech and pharmaceutical companies within his £3.3bn Woodford Equity Income fund. 

Some 33% of his fund is allocated to the healthcare sector and his top two largest holdings are 7.8% in Astrazeneca and 6.4% in GlaxosmithKline as well as 3.2% in Roche.

Astrazeneca was subject to a takeover bid by rival Pfizer earlier this year and Woodford has stated he expects Pfizer will return to bid again.