Bianca Ogden, a prominent figure in Platinum Asset Management, has built a distinguished investment career rooted in a challenging early experience. Recruited in 2004 from Johnson & Johnson, where she worked as a scientist, her first stock pick for the Platinum International Health Sciences Fund was the German pharmaceutical company Merck. Weeks after his investment, the stock fell more than 20 percent after news broke about Merck’s anti-inflammatory drug Vioxx increasing heart attack risks. This dramatic downturn, and founder Kerr Nelson’s challenge to “double down” is a key lesson at Ogden that illustrates the company’s true ability to meet challenges, which shape its flexible investment philosophy.
Three years later, Ogden was promoted to portfolio manager, which he holds today. Under his tutelage, the fund has produced exceptional results, boasting a 48 percent return over the past 12 months, significantly outpacing its benchmark’s 5.1 percent loss. With a PhD in virology, Ogden has a unique edge in biotech investing. This was evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, where his fund took a substantial position in Moderna. Moderna has developed a signature vaccine technology that mimics parts of the virus to teach the body how to fight disease. His foresight led to increased investment as the pandemic emerged, sending Moderna’s shares soaring significantly, though he later observed a chilling “Arctic winter” in the biotech stock.
Ogden’s investment approach marries deep scientific understanding with commercial acumen. This dual approach is reflected in recent successes such as Nasdaq-listed Terns Pharmaceuticals, which is developing a targeted drug for resistant forms of chronic myeloid leukemia. Ogden invested last year, impressed by early clinical data, and the stock rose 1,699 percent before Merck agreed to buy the company. Another strong pick, Apogee Therapeutics, which works on extending the life of injectable antibodies for certain disorders, has also seen a 328% gain since its 2023 IPO. Ogden points to past investment patterns, noting that understanding the disease, its players, and market niches is critical.
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