Baron Health Care Fund

Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) is a multinational pharmaceutical company developing drugs in diabetes, oncology, immunology, and neuroscience. The company's top-selling drugs include Mounjaro, Zepbound, Trulicity, Humalog, Alimta, Taltz, Humulin, and Jardiance.
We are investors in Lilly given its focus on industry-leading growth categories like diabetes, obesity, and oncology. Leading GLP-1 drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound offer superb blood sugar control for diabetics, can drive 20%-plus weight loss in obese patients, and are likely improve cardiovascular outcomes in both diabetic and non-diabetic obese patients. We think GLP-1 drugs will become the standard of care for both diabetes and obesity, representing a $150 billion-plus market. We believe Lilly has the potential to double revenues and achieve double-digit EPS growth by 2030.

Argenx SE (ARGX) is a biotechnology company developing antibodies for the treatment of autoimmune disorders. The company is in the early years of the commercial launch of its drug Vyvgart (efgartigimod alfa) for a rare muscle weakness disorder.
Efgartigimod has potentially broad applicability in ameliorating overactive antibody-based diseases. Efgartigimod is a true "pipeline in a product," where the product itself is the platform, as it has the potential to be used against a diverse range of diseases—something that is rarely achieved in the biotechnology space. We expect the share price to increase as argenx proves its product’s effectiveness in multiple autoantibody disorders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (TMO) is the world's largest life sciences tools company. Thermo Fisher provides analytical instruments, laboratory equipment, software, services, consumables, and reagents for life sciences research, manufacturing, analysis, discovery, and diagnostics.
Thermo Fisher's $240 billion addressable market is growing 4% to 6% per year due to favorable demographics, scientific advances, new technology, and increased regulations. Long-term, management expects to grow revenue on an organic basis by 7% to 9% annually, driven by share gains and exposure to high-growth segments of the market. Competitive advantages include industry-leading scale, commercial infrastructure, e-commerce platform, supply chain capabilities, and R&D investment. The market is fragmented, offering opportunities to create shareholder value through M&A.

AstraZeneca PLC (AZN) is a global biopharmaceutical company with a strategy based on pipeline-driven transformation and a focus on three main therapy areas based on its core competencies: oncology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, and respiratory illnesses.
We think AstraZeneca’s focused strategy could potentially produce a best-in-class growth profile. The company is a leader in economically attractive markets, particularly oncology, and has an opportunity to participate in emerging transformative markets, such as China's modernizing health care system. Current growth comes from multiple avenues as AstraZeneca is one of the rare companies to have pipeline optionality, new product cycles, and no existential loss of exclusivity risk for a key asset.

Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (MTD) is a leading provider of precision instruments and services for customers in the life sciences, food, and chemical industries, among others.  
Mettler-Toledo has a track record of consistent growth. The company has strong brand recognition, customer diversification, pricing power, and margin expansion opportunities. We think the business has attractive financial characteristics, including high returns on capital, minimal capital requirements, and solid free cash flow generation, which it uses to repurchase its stock. We believe the management team is an excellent steward of capital and skilled at developing sales and marketing initiatives to enhance growth.

Penumbra, Inc. (PEN) is a medical device company that develops and manufactures mechanical thrombectomy devices used to remove blood clots that can lead to serious conditions throughout the body. A smaller portion of Penumbra’s business comes from embolization and vascular access products.
We believe Penumbra is highly differentiated in its core thrombectomy business. The primary mechanism in this segment is aspiration (suction) to extract clots from the body. Penumbra has also introduced computer-assisted vacuum thrombectomy, which uses algorithms to modulate aspiration power when a clot is detected and control a separate valve that injects saline to reduce friction between the clot and catheter. This results in a unique device profile that maximizes clot removal while minimizing the risk of blood loss.

Danaher Corporation (DHR) is a leading manufacturer in the life sciences and diagnostics markets.
The company's key advantage is the Danaher Business System, designed to continuously improve performance in the areas of quality, delivery, cost, growth, and innovation. Through acquisitions, Danaher has built the leading business in bioprocessing, with a broad and diverse portfolio spanning the entire workflow. On the diagnostics side, Danaher’s Cepheid business has become a gold standard in molecular point-of-care testing.

Insmed Incorporated (INSM) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies for rare and serious respiratory diseases.
Insmed is advancing three late-stage drugs with combined peak sales potential above $8 billion. We are most excited about Brinsupri for non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis, a $5 billion-plus opportunity that could be transformative for as many as 500,000 U.S. patients given the lack approved therapies. We are also optimistic about treprostinil palmitil inhalation powder (TPIP) for pulmonary hypertension. Unlike existing inhaled prostanoids, TPIP is administered once daily at higher doses, offering the potential for improved efficacy with fewer side effects.

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG) manufactures and markets the da Vinci Surgical System, a robotic surgical system used for minimally invasive surgical procedures.
We believe a large number of medical procedures that are currently performed using open surgery will eventually be performed using Intuitive’s da Vinci system. Robotic surgery is less invasive than open surgery, and patients experience less blood loss, less nerve damage, reduced pain, and faster recovery. Intuitive generates a large and expanding portion of its revenue from recurring procedures. We expect revenue and earnings to grow at attractive rates as procedure volumes increase.

RadNet, Inc. (RDNT) is the leading U.S. provider of freestanding outpatient diagnostic imaging services and related IT solutions, based on the number of locations and annual imaging revenue, with 366 centers across key markets including Arizona, California, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Texas.
RadNet’s growth is driven by aging U.S. demographics, greater use of imaging in disease diagnosis and treatment, and the shift from inpatient imaging to lower-cost outpatient settings. The company builds leading positions in regional markets to leverage operational efficiencies through relationships with payors, radiology groups, and referring physicians. RadNet’s multi-modality strategy diversifies revenue streams and reduces reimbursement risk, while its AI capabilities enhance radiologic reads, supporting earlier disease detection and improving physician productivity.