Hedge Fund News: Kyle Bass, Steven Cohen, Thomas Wagner

Celgene, Shire Make Five as Kyle Bass Expands Drug Patent Fight (Bloomberg)
Hedge fund manager Kyle Bass has expanded the number of drug companies whose patents he has targeted to five. In less than three months, Bass’s Coalition for Affordable Drugs has filed petitions to invalidate patents on six different drugs, including two on Thursday, owned by Shire Plc and Celgene Corp. His tactics are largely made possible by a change in U.S. law that, beginning in 2012, created new procedures to challenge patents, including by third parties.

Steven Cohen ‘Continuing to Advocate’ For Christie (The Wall Street Journal)
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s fundraising for a potential 2016 presidential bid could be getting a boost from a billionaire hedge-fund manager. Steven Cohen, the founder of SAC Capital Advisors, attended a dinner last week in New York City for Mr. Christie’s super PAC, America Leads, according to people familiar with the matter. About a dozen people attended the dinner at the 21 Club for Mr. Christie’s political-action committee, which can raise unlimited amounts of money to support a presidential run if the governor chooses to do so.

Knighthead’s Wagner Buys 15 Central Park West Apartment (Bloomberg)
Thomas Wagner, the co-founding partner of hedge fund Knighthead Capital Management, bought an apartment at Manhattan’s 15 Central Park West for $10.6 million, more than double what the previous owner paid seven years ago. The seller of the 2,135-square-foot (198-square-meter), fourth-floor condominium was listed in New York City property records as Sultan Ahmed Al-Qassimi. He bought Unit 4E for $5.04 million in November 2007, records show.

Three Partners Exit Brevan Howard (The Wall Street Journal)
Brevan Howard, one of the most powerful hedge funds in the world whose fortunes have waned in recent months, has revealed in filings that three partners left the firm in little over a month. The three staff include the manager of a commodities fund the $27 billion hedge fund firm decided to close late last year. Filings dated April 11 and published on Wednesday at Companies House by Brevan Howard Asset Management LLP, many of whose staff are based in Switzerland or the U.K., show that Matthew James stepped down as a member of the limited liability partnership on March 15, while Filippo Cipriani stepped down as a partner on March 31 and Stephane Nicolas the following day.