Baker Bros. Advisors Hits the Jackpot with Pharmacyclics Inc (PCYC) Sale; Incyte Corporation (INCY) Among Fund’s Other Top Picks

Now then, let’s take a look at the top 3 picks of Baker Bros. after Pharmacyclics, its top pick.  Incyte Corporation (NASDAQ:INCY) was the fund’s second most valuable holding at the end of 2014, and has been one of its top holdings for years (as Pharmacyclics has been). Baker Bros. also stands as the top shareholder of this stock among our tracked funds with ownership of 14.85 million shares at the end of 2014, unchanged from the end of the previous quarter.

Incyte is also in the midst of a very strong year, up 28.31% so far in 2015. The bipharmaceutical company is also in the process of developing various small molecule treatments, in this case for unmet medical needs. Institutional ownership of the company is high, at 97%, with Samuel Isaly’s Orbimed Advisors being one of the other large shareholders of this stock.

Next is Synageva BioPharma Corp (NASDAQ:GEVA), another seemingly unheralded company among funds we track, as Baker Bros. was again the largest shareholder by far with ownership of 10.66 million shares at the end of 2014. Synageva has also performed well this year, up 10.79% on the heels of a very strong 2014, when shares rose 42.21%.

The biopharmaceutical company is focused on the treatment of rare diseases, including a treatment for mucopolysaccharidosis IIIB. The company’s SBC-103 treatment for that disease has been granted orphan designation by the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and is currently in a Phase 1/2 study.

Lastly is Seattle Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGEN), yet another company that exhibits many of the same traits as the previous ones: large ownership by Baker Bros. of more than 27.86 million shares, far more than any other fund, long-time ownership dating back many years, and oh yeah, a stock that is up nicely in 2015, 12.11%. Needless to say, Baker Bros.’ returns for the quarter should be off the charts.

Seattle Genetics is a biopharmaceutical company that develops cancer treatments using monoclonal antibody-based treatments. Its treatment Adcetris is approved by the FDA for the treament of Hodgkin’s lymphoma as well as systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma, in certain indications (when other treatment options have proven ineffective), with the drug registering $178.2 million in sales in 2014, which exceeded guidance and expectations.

Disclosure: None