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Novo Annual Report 2015
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investing in mature life science
companies
l arge
investments
was established in 2013. complementing our seed and venture portfolios, large
investments
focuses on mature, well-established life science
companies
with a strong market position, attractive growth prospects, and an ambitious innovation agenda. our goal is to create value through active support and long-term ownership, particularly in industries and
companies
where we have networks and insights, and can contribute to making well- performing
companies
deliver even better results. the long-term perspective of our
investments
provides a stable platform for the portfolio
companies
, helping them to make the right decisions for sustained long-term performance. our large
investments
can be made in publicly listed as well as privately owned
companies
. depending on the situation, we may invest to take either a minority or a controlling position. developments in 2015 in 2015, novo added btg plc to our large
investments
portfolio. btg is a uk-based
company
with a market-leading platform in interventional medicine. our investment was motivated by the
company
?s strategy to build a healthcare business within interventional medicine and high-margin specialist products. in addition, inogen was moved from our venture portfolio to large
investments
indicating our long- term interest in this
company
. inogen is a us-based medical technology
company
offering innovative respiratory projects for use in the homecare setting. we divested our shares in aerocrine ab ? a medical technology
company
focused on improving the diagnosis and treatment of patients with inflamed airways. the divestment of aerocrine is in line with our strategy of having a large
investments
portfolio that focuses exclusively on mature, cash- flow positive
companies
. aerocrine was acquired at a time when our focus was directed more at
companies
that were in the earlier phases of the commercialisation process. sonion group, fully owned by novo and a global leader in the manufacture of microelectronic components for the hearing aid industry, realised revenue growth above the underlying market growth of approximately 5% p.a. xellia pharmaceuticals, also fully owned by novo, revised its long-term commercial plans. the
company
expanded its manufacturing footprint in the us with the acquisition of a major factory in ohio. xellia reported growth of 10% this year. the other large
investments
, where novo is a minority shareholder, realised very positive developments in 2015. chr. hansen holding a/s experienced strong organic growth of 14% and is continuing its ?nature?s no. 1? strategy. inogen continues to strengthen the
company
?s direct-to-consumer model and growing brand awareness. symphogen fully enrolled 240 patients in their phase 2b study for sym004 in metastatic colorectal cancer ? a product that was fully transferred from merck serono to symphogen earlier in the year ? and partnered with baxalta to advance six immuno-oncology checkpoint inhibitors from discovery into clinical development. in august 2015, orexo received fda approval of zubsolv for use at the initiation of treatment for opioid dependence. finally, veloxis pharmaceuticals received fda approval to use envarsus for the prophylaxis of rejection in kidney transplant patients. going forward to expand our existing portfolio, novo is pursuing substantial
investments
in the life science sector in the years to come. our areas of interest span broadly across the life science industry ? from biopharmaceutical
companies
over med-tech manufacturers and healthcare service providers to industrial biotechnology. we strive to invest in
companies
that are market leaders, and where we believe our ownership can make a significant difference to the
company
?s long-term performance. novo is looking to place substantial
investments
in the life science sector in the years to come. in 2015, novo invested in btg plc and sold aerocrine ab. annual review 2015 17 large
investments
xellia-manufacturing-company-18.html
