Woodford funds take a 'hammering' as biotech shares are crushed

Neil Woodford

When Neil Woodford jumped ship at Invesco to start up two new funds of his own, he was hailed as a major figure in finance who could help revive the U.K.'s promising but underfunded biotech sector. Today, though, he's feeling the heat as the great biotech plunge over the last 5 months has pounded share value mercilessly. "The net asset value has taken a bit of a hammering because of the setback in markets that's been felt perhaps most significantly in the biotech sector where there's been some really big price corrections," Woodford tells FinancialNews. Woodford has also been accused of making some bad investments, particularly in the controversial case of Northwest Bio ($NWBO). The financier has invested £141 million in the troubled Northwest, which is now worth about £40 million. Story