Resources

Our final blog of 2025 celebrates some excellent fundraising news to close the year, while highlighting key opportunities to engage with and shape the UK life sciences agenda — including the development of UK engineering biology, data policy, a cross-cancer research policy position and salary benchmarking.

​​​​​​​LinkGevity and Delta Biosciences, UAB, a Lithuanian pharmaceutical stability specialist, have been awarded funding from the UK Space Agency to prepare LinkGevity’s pioneering Anti-Necrotic therapeutic for deployment in space.

Brainomix, a global leader and pioneer of AI-powered imaging tools in stroke and lung fibrosis, today announced it has joined the American Heart Association Center for Health Technology & Innovation’s Innovators’ Network.

In this blog, Justin Wilson, Withers & Rogers LLP, shares his expert perspective on what the recent patent rulings from the Unified Patent Court (UPC) and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) mean in practice for biotech and pharma companies.

How are pharmaceutical companies, policymakers and investors seeking growth amid fast-changing international politics, trade deals, a looming patent cliff, and technological innovation? Our maiden Life sciences and healthcare insights report offers a global perspective on disruptive forces from artificial intelligence to regulatory shifts.

BIA and Japan Bioindustry Association signed an MOU, agreeing to work together to connect the two countries’ life sciences and biotech ecosystems to accelerate medical innovation and the commercialisation of engineering biology.

Good to see support for BIA agendas in government messaging as we continue to push for pension fund reform, attracting the best global talent, UK manufacturing resilience and addressing the challenges of scaling.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug Designation to Medannex's novel therapy MDX-124, for the treatment of biliary tract cancer (BTC). The FDA’s decision is based on emerging clinical data from the ongoing first-in-human Phase 1b ATTAINMENT clinical trial, which shows promising efficacy signals in patients treated with MDX-124 monotherapy. Durable disease control and tumour shrinkage have been observed in several BTC patients, with no significant side effects. 

Arecor Therapeutics plc has signed a co-development agreement with Sequel Med Tech LLC to combine AT278 (500U/mL) with Sequel’s twiist™ Automated Insulin Delivery (AID) system powered by Tidepool, and a royalty financing agreement with Ligand which will raise non-dilutive capital of up to $11 million (£8.2 million).

In the last week, we have been hit by headlines that MSD plans to close its discovery research activities in London and that AstraZeneca is pausing investment due to the UK commercial environment and specifically in response to VPAG outcomes.

MoU will explore collaborative opportunities in biomedicine, biotechnology and bioinformatics, with a strong emphasis on AI applications.

Shaun Grady is becoming BIA chair, effective from January 2026, in another week of innovation for our sector.

MSD's record-breaking $10 billion acquisition of Verona Pharma illustrates the potential of our sector, but also is a reminder of the need to strengthen UK capital markets.

In this article, Kate Barclay, Skills Strategy Consultant at BIA, outlines new changes to UK immigration law and how they will impact the life sciences sector. Prepared in collaboration with legal experts at Eversheds-Sutherland LLP.

Two-part clinical study programme to evaluate change in lean and fat mass in patients receiving two different doses of S-pindolol benzoate whilst 1) receiving the GLP-1 agonist semaglutide; and 2) after cessation of semaglutide treatment; Initial proof-of-concept data expected in second half of 2026