The market slump in March has given a great opportunity to acquire stakes in some high-quality business

Polar Capital Healthcare Trust PLC () said that biotechnology is now one of its favourite sectors though it has also added sizeable stakes in pharma giants Roche and Bristol Myers-Squibb because of their strength in oncology.

Issuing its half-year report, the trust added that the market slump due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisisin March had also bought a great opportunity to acquire stakes in some high-quality businesses.

That turbulence, though, meant Polars net asset value dropped by 6.4% to 221.7p in the half-year to March, with all the decline was seen in the final month,the FTSE 250-listed trust said

At the end of February, Polar was performing strongly but March saw a drop of 7.1% against a fall in its benchmark index of 0.64%. Polar noted that it was affected by being overweight in mid-capitalisation stocks, with an emphasis on Europe and the US also a drag.

Going forward, the trust said that, as wellas biotechnology, it is also over-weight in life sciences tools and services, reflecting its view that the challenges facing the end markets from COVID-19 are transient.

Indeed, not only is the Asia Pacific region starting to show the green shoots of recovery, the industry has been heavily involved in the development and manufacture of testing kits to help manage the COVID-19 crisis, it said.

The trust added: In an uncertain world, the resilient growth profile of the healthcare sector offers appeal, with financially sound large-capitalisation companies especially well-positioned. At the same time, the political backdrop is supportive, valuations in the US are attractive.

Net assets at the end of March were valued at 267mln.

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Polar Cap Healthcare Trust overweight in biotechnology as it looks post-coronavirus pandemic - Proactive Investors UK