REG-Biotech Grw Tst PLC: Preliminary Announcement of Results

NEWS RELEASE

To: City Editors

For immediate release

12 November 2009

The Biotech Growth Trust PLC

Unaudited Interim Results for the six months ended 30 September 2009

Financial Highlights 30 September 31 March % Change

2009 2009

Net asset value per share 153.5p 136.9p +12.1

Share price 146.0p 130.5p +11.9

Discount of share price to net asset value 4.9% 4.7% -
per share

NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (sterling 524.2 477.5 +9.8
adjusted)

No interim dividend is proposed.

The following are attached:

* Chairman's Statement

* Review of Investments

* Income Statement

* Statement of Changes in Equity

* Balance Sheet

* Cash Flow Statement

* Notes to the Interim Financial Statements

This Announcement is not the Company's interim report. It is an abridged
version of the Company's full interim report for the six months ended 30
September 2009. The full interim report will be sent to shareholders on 17
November 2009. The full interim report, together with a copy of this
announcement, will also be available on the Company's website:
www.biotechgt.com

For further information please contact:

Mark Pope, Frostrow Capital LLP 020 3 008 4913

Jo Stonier, Quill Communications 020 7758 2230

Chairman's Statement

Performance

I am pleased to report another successful period for the Company. This was
achieved against a background of a strong recovery in global markets generally
due, in part, to a rerating of financial and resources stocks over the period.
The Company's net asset value per share rose by 12.1% over the period, an
outperformance of 2.3% over our benchmark, the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index,
measured in sterling terms. The index rose by 9.8%. Our outperformance can be
attributed principally to stock selection with some of the top contributors
announcing important clinical progress with their products during the period.

Despite our good performance relative to our benchmark index, it should be
noted that the biotechnology sector lagged global markets in the period, with
the MSCI World Index having risen by approximately 25% in sterling terms. This
underperformance compared to global markets in the six month period followed a
significant outperformance by the Company and the sector during the Company's
previous financial year where the Company's net asset value per share rose by
32.4% compared to a fall of 22.2% in the MSCI World Index measured in sterling
terms. I would therefore highlight that, overall, during the 18 month period to
30 September 2009 the performance of the Company and the biotechnology sector
has been both stronger and less volatile than that of the wider market.

The Company continues to be significantly exposed to the exchange rate
prevailing between the U.S. dollar and sterling. During the period the exchange
rate moved from 1.4334 to 1.5994, a strengthening of sterling when compared to
the U.S. dollar of 11.6%. This adversely affected the Company's performance. It
remains the policy of the Company not to hedge against currency exposure.

The Company's share price also outperformed the Company's benchmark, rising by
11.9% over the period. The discount of share price to net asset value per share
widened slightly from 4.7% at 31 March 2009 to 4.9% at 30 September 2009.

Further information on the investment performance and the outlook for the
Company is given in the Review of Investments beginning on page five of the
Interim Report.

New share issue

On 25 September the Board announced that it is considering raising additional
funds through a placing and offer of ordinary shares. This possibility remains
under review and a further announcement will be made in due course.

Discount management policy and Share buyback policy

The Board has continued to implement its policy of active discount management
and to buy back shares for cancellation when the discount of the share price
against the net asset value per share is greater than 6%. During the six months
under review the Company repurchased a total of 1,168,950 shares at a cost of £
1.5m (including expenses) for cancellation.

Revenue and Dividends

The revenue loss for the period was £233,000 (six months ended 30 September
2008: loss of £202,000) and no interim dividend is declared (six months ended
30 September 2008: nil).

VAT

During the period the Company's previous Manager, Close Investments Limited
(`Close'), submitted a claim to HM Revenue and Customs for the repayment of £
168,000 which equates to 0.3p per share. This amount is in respect of VAT on
investment management and performance fees previously paid by the Company to
Close and which is now reclaimable by the Company following the ruling by the
European Court of Justice in October 2007. In view of the fact that the timing
of the recovery of this amount remains uncertain, no receivable amount has been
recorded in the Company's financial statements as at 30 September 2009.

Alternative Investment Fund Manager (`AIFM') Directive

The AIFM Directive is draft legislation currently being considered in Europe
which will regulate `alternative investment funds'. It potentially affects all
investment companies, including this Company. The Board supports the
initiatives being taken by the Association of Investment Companies to ensure
that the Directive is tailored to accommodate the investment company structure.
The Board will keep shareholders informed of developments concerning the
Directive as they arise.

Outlook

Market conditions in our current financial year have been a welcome contrast to
those experienced in our previous financial year and our outlook for the sector
remains positive. This is principally against a background of new product
development from within the biotechnology sector and renewed merger and
acquisition activity as large pharmaceutical companies take advantage of
depressed valuations of emerging biotechnology companies. In addition the
appointment of a new U.S. Food and Drug Administration (`FDA') commissioner is
expected to improve the regulatory environment in the U.S. market.

Our focus remains on the selection of stocks with strong prospects for capital
enhancement and we continue to believe that the long term investor in our
sector will be well rewarded.

John Sclater CVO

Chairman

12 November 2009

Review of Investments

Performance

We are pleased to report that the Company's net asset value per share posted a
strong increase of 12.1% during the period, compared to an increase of 9.8% in
our benchmark index, the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index, measured in sterling
terms.

Some of the top contributors to the portfolio's performance announced important
new clinical progress for their products, including Dendreon, Celgene, and
Pharmasset. Dendreon announced positive phase III data for its novel
immunotherapy Provenge for prostate cancer, sending the stock up 133% on the
day of the announcement. With this favourable result, Provenge will likely be a
multi-billion dollar product and the first in a novel class of cancer
therapies. Another oncology company, Celgene, reported successful phase III
data for Revlimid in front-line multiple myeloma, which will lead to greater
use of the drug earlier in treatment. Pharmasset reported positive data for its
hepatitis C virus (HCV) protease inhibitor and initiated a phase IIb trial of
R7128, an HCV drug partnered with Roche. These compounds are some of the most
promising next generation HCV drugs, each with a billion-dollar market
potential.

Environment and Outlook

The past six months have shown strong performance for the broader markets as
the financial crisis has abated and the fundamentals of the economy have begun
to recover. Biotech, particularly the major biotech companies, underperformed
the broader markets during this period. This underperformance stemmed from
investor concerns over healthcare reform in the U.S. and followed a period of
strong outperformance of biotech versus the broader markets during the market
downturn in 2008.

Emerging biotech tended to outperform major biotech during the period. At the
lows of the market during the first quarter of 2009, there was fear among
biotech investors that an inability to finance their operations would lead a
number of smaller, unprofitable firms into bankruptcy. As the markets
stabilised, a financing window re-opened in the United States, which has
provided much needed cash to many smaller companies. A number of our emerging
biotech names benefited from the rally that ensued as investors returned to
smaller cap names.

Uncertainty over healthcare reform in the United States has been an overhang on
the biotech sector this year and has contributed to the sector's
underperformance. Fears that President Obama and congressional Democrats would
enact legislation which would adversely affect the sector have weighed on the
minds of many investors. Congressional committees have proposed multiple
versions of a healthcare reform bill and lawmakers are now attempting to
reconcile the multiple bills into one final piece of legislation. The most
controversial aspect of the bill remains whether it will include a public
insurance option to compete with private plans to cover the uninsured.
Investors are concerned that such an option could eventually lead toward a
single-payor system in which the government would have the ability to limit the
cost of drugs. We continue to believe that any public option will either be
limited in scope or nonexistent in the final legislation. A final vote on a
bill will likely occur by the end of the year, whereupon we expect a "relief
rally" in the sector as the reform overhang is lifted.

Ultimately we believe that healthcare reform will actually be positive for
biotech. Biotech companies will benefit from the increased drug utilisation
from broader insurance coverage and may get extra marketing exclusivity for
their products. Generalist investors remain underweight in healthcare, so we
expect large money flows into the sector once reform is finalised.

We continue to expect increased merger and acquisition in the biotech space and
have positioned the portfolio with this in mind. In May, one of our portfolio
companies, Cougar Biotechnology, was acquired by Johnson & Johnson for its
potential prostate cancer drug, Abiraterone. The portfolio is currently
positioned with a large exposure to companies in the "sweet spot" for
acquisition - companies close to product approval or in the early stage of
product launch, such as Dendreon, Allos Therapeutics and Alexion
Pharmaceuticals.

The number of holdings remains approximately 30, exclusive of unquoted
investments and warrants. The geographic distribution of assets is 94.5% North
America, 5.1% Europe and 0.4% Asia. Currently approximately 40% of the
Company's assets are invested in major biotechnology and 60% are invested in
emerging biotechnology. The portfolio is still weighted more heavily towards
major biotech relative to our historical allocation as we expect these stocks
to perform especially well when clarity is reached on healthcare reform.

The Company has authority from the Board to borrow up to £15m which is not
currently being utilised. We intend to use the Company's borrowing powers to
enhance our exposure when opportunities arise.

OrbiMed Capital LLC

Investment Manager

12 November 2009

Income Statement

For the six months ended 30 September 2009

(Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)

Six months ended Six months ended Year ended

30 September 2009 30 September 2008 31 March 2009

Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total

£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000

Investment
income

Investment 4 - 4 19 - 19 39 - 39
income

Total income 4 - 4 19 - 19 39 - 39

(note 2)

Gains and
losses on
investments

Gains on - 9,119 9,119 - 13,891 13,891 - 19,774 19,774
investments
held at fair
value
through
profit or
loss

Exchange - (62) (62) - (397) (397) - (469) (469)
losses on
currency
balances

Expenses

Investment - (621) (621) - (319) (319) - (871) (871)
management,
management
and
performance
fees

(note 3)

Other (235) - (235) (215) (8) (223) (408) (7) (415)
expenses

Profit/ (231) 8,436 8,205 (196) 13,167 12,971 (369) 18,427 18,058
(loss)
before
finance
costs and
taxation

Finance (2) (3) (5) (6) (22) (28) (7) (75) (82)
costs

Profit/ (233) 8,433 8,200 (202) 13,145 12,943 (376) 18,352 17,976
(loss)
before
taxation

Taxation - - - - - - - - -

Profit/ (233) 8,433 8,200 (202) 13,145 12,943 (376) 18,352 17,976
(loss) for
the period

Earnings/ (0.5)p 16.9p 16.4p (0.3)p 22.4p 22.1p (0.7)p (32.7)p (32.0)
(loss) per p
share (note
4)

The Company does not have any income or expenses which are not included in the
profit for the period. Accordingly, the "Profit for the period" is also the
"Total comprehensive income for the period", as defined in IAS 1 (revised) and
no separate Statement of Comprehensive Income has been presented.

All of the profit and total Comprehensive Income for the period is attributable
to the owners of the Company.

The total column of the statement is the Income Statement of the Company
prepared in accordance with IFRS. The supplementary revenue and capital columns
are presented for information purposes as recommended by the Statement of
Recommended Practice issued by the Association of Investment Companies.

All items in the above statement derive from continuing operations. No
operations were acquired or discontinued during the period.

Statement of Changes in Equity

Six months
ended 30
September
2009

(Unaudited)

Share Special Capital Capital Retained Total £
Capital Reserve Redemption Reserve Earnings '000
£'000 Reserve £'000 £'000
£'000
£'000

At 31 March 12,824 33,800 4,307 21,926 (2,649) 70,208
2009

Net profit/ - - - 8,433 (233) 8,200
(loss) for
the period

Buyback of (292) (1,475) 292 - - (1,475)
shares

At 30 12,532 32,325 4,599 30,359 (2,882) 76,933
September 200
9

Six months
ended 30
September
2008

(Unaudited)

Share Special Capital Capital Retained Total £
Capital Reserve Redemption Reserve Earnings '000
£'000 Reserve £'000 £'000
£'000
£'000

At 31 March 15,596 46,065 1,535 3,574 (2,273) 64,497
2008

Net profit/ - - - 13,145 (202) 12,943
(loss) for
the period

Buyback of (1,649) (6,897) 1,649 - - (6,897)
shares

At 30 13,947 39,168 3,184 16,719 (2,475) 70,543
September
2008

Year ended
31 March
2009

(Audited)

Share Special Capital Capital Retained Total £
Capital Reserve Redemption Reserve Earnings '000
£'000 Reserve £'000 £'000
£'000
£'000

At 31 March 15,596 46,065 1,535 3,574 (2,273) 64,497
2008

Net profit/ - - - 18,352 (376) 17,976
(loss) for
the year

Buyback of (2,772) (12,265) 2,772 - - (12,265)
shares

At 31 March 12,824 33,800 4,307 21,926 (2,649) 70,208
2009

Balance Sheet

as at 30 September 2009

(Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)

30 30 31 March
September September
2009 2008 2009

£'000 £'000 £'000

Non current assets

Investments held at fair value through 77,434 72,657 71,256
profit or loss

Current assets

Other receivables 2,031 257 1,066

Cash and cash equivalents 95 483 2,161

2,126 740 3,227

Total assets 79,560 73,397 74,483

Current liabilities

Other payables 2,627 932 1,136

Bank overdraft - 239 -

Bank loan - 1,683 3,139

2,627 2,854 4,275

Net assets 76,933 70,543 70,208

Equity attributable to equity holders

Share capital 12,532 13,947 12,824

Special reserve 32,325 39,168 33,800

Capital redemption reserve 4,599 3,184 4,307

Capital reserve 30,359 16,719 21,926

Retained earnings (2,882) (2,475) (2,649)

Total equity 76,933 70,543 70,208

Net asset value per share (note 5) 153.5p 126.4p 136.9p

Cash Flow Statement

for the six months ended 30 September 2009

(Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)

Six months ended Six months ended Year ended

30 September 200 30 September 2008 31 March 2009
9
£'000 £'000
£'000

Net cash inflow from 3,218 5,382 10,679
operating activities (note
6)

Net cash inflow before 3,218 5,382 10,679
financing

Net cash outflow from (5,222) (5,552) (8,860)
financing activities

Net (decrease)/increase in (2,004) (170) 1,819
cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents 2,161 811 811
at start of period

Realised loss on foreign (62) (397) (469)
currency

Cash and cash equivalents 95 244 2,161
at period end

Notes to the Interim Financial Statements

1. Accounting Policies

The condensed financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost
convention, except for the measurement of investments which are valued at fair
value, and in accordance with applicable accounting standards and with the
Statement of Recommended Practice `Financial Statements of Investment Trust
Companies' dated January 2009.

The same accounting policies used for the year ended 31 March 2009 have been
applied.

2. Income

(Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)

Six months Six months Year ended
ended 30 ended 30 31 March
September September
2009
2009 2008

£'000 £'000 £'000

Investment income 4 19 39

Total income 4 19 39

3. Investment Management, Management and Performance Fees

(Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)

Six months Six months Year ended
ended 30 ended 30 31 March
September September
2009
2009 2008

£'000 £'000 £'000

Investment management fee 226 223 449

Management, administrative and 101 96 198
company secretarial fee fee

Performance fee accrued 294 - 224

621 319 871

4. Earnings/(Loss) per Share

The earnings/(loss) per share figure is based on the net gain for the six
months of £8,200,000 (six months ended 30 September 2008: £12,943,000 gain;
year ended 31 March 2009: £17,976,000 gain) and on 50,043,197 (six months ended
30 September 2008: 58,644,725 and year ended 31 March 2009: 56,196,626) shares,
being the weighted average number of shares in issue during the period.

Notes to the Interim Financial Statements (continued)

The return per share detailed above can be further analysed between revenue and
capital as follows:

(Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)

Six months Six months Year ended
ended 30 ended 30 31 March
September September 2009
2009 2008
£'000
£'000 £'000

Net revenue loss (233) (202) (376)

Net capital gain 8,433 13,145 18,352

Net total gain 8,200 12,943 17,976

Weighted average number of shares 50,043,197 58,644,725 56,196,626
in issue during the period

Pence Pence Pence

Revenue loss per share (0.5) (0.3) (0.7)

Capital earnings per share 16.9 22.4 32.7

Total earnings per share 16.4 22.1 32.0

5. Net Asset Value per Share

The net asset value per share is based on the net assets attributable to equity
shareholders of £76,933,000 (30 September 2008: £70,543,000; 31 March 2009: £
70,208,000) and on 50,127,463 (30 September 2008: 55,789,463; 31 March 2009:
51,296,413) shares, being the number of shares in issue at the period end.

6. Reconciliation of Profit Before Taxation to Net Cash Outflow From Operating
Activities

(Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)

Six months Six months Year ended
ended 30 ended 30
September 2009 September 2008 31 March

£'000 £'000 2009

£'000

Profit before taxation 8,200 12,943 17,976

Gain on investments held at fair (9,057) (13,494) (19,305)
value through profit or loss

Net sales of investments held at 3,678 5,926 11,788
fair value through profit or loss

Decrease/(increase) in other 17 5 (9)
receivables

Increase in other payables 380 2 229

Net cash inflow 3,218 5,382 10,679

Notes to the Interim Financial Statements (continued)

7. Transaction Costs

Purchase and sale transaction costs for the six months ended 30 September 2009
were £183,000 (year ended 31 March 2009: £239,000; six months ended 30
September 2008: £125,000). These costs comprise mainly stamp duty and broker
commission.

8. Contingent Asset

On 31 October 2007 the Association of Investment Companies announced that HM
Revenue and Customs had confirmed to the Investment Management Association that
investment trust investment management fees should no longer attract Value
Added Tax (VAT). As a result, during the period the Company's previous
investment manager, Close Investments Limited (`Close'), submitted a claim to
HM Revenue and Customs for the repayment of £168,000, equating to 0.3p per
share. This amount is in respect of VAT previously paid by the Company to Close
and which is now reclaimable by the Company. In view of the fact that the
timing of the recovery of this amount remains uncertain, no receivable amount
has been recorded in the Company's financial statements as at 30 September
2009.

9. Comparative Information

The financial information contained in this interim report does not constitute
statutory accounts as defined in section 435 (1) of the Companies Act 2006. The
financial information for the six months ended 30 September 2009 and 2008 has
not been audited or reviewed by the auditors.

The information for the year ended 31 March 2009 has been extracted from the
latest published audited financial statements. The audited financial statements
for the year ended 31 March 2009 have been filed with the Registrar of
Companies. The report of the auditors on those accounts was unqualified, did
not include a reference to any matters to which the auditors drew attention by
way of emphasis without qualifying the report, and did not contain statements
under section 237(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 1985.

END