BIA update – 20 April 2026

The UK BioIndustry Association (BIA) is the UK’s trade association for innovative life sciences and the leading UK-wide forum for expert communities and high quality peer-to-peer networking in the sector.

With over 600 members across the ecosystem, we work constantly to listen and to represent the sector – whilst creating strong communications between key stakeholders and our members. It is incredibly hard to showcase all the work that happens on your behalf – but this blog attempts to capture some of it, week by week.

 

Jane Wall
Managing Director, BIA

This week, the breadth of our advocacy and convening power seems particularly extraordinary. Our recent work has included launching BioSolutions UK, supporting and pressing government efforts to make clinical trials more competitive and ensuring that companies are not exposed to additional energy costs. We are also taking time to recognise the huge part BIA played in spring-loading vaccine and therapeutics development through COVID-19, our persistent lobbying on the role of the British Business Bank and the new funds and cash flows evolving, and our support for the now burgeoning TechBio sector becoming world-leading for the UK (check out the breaking news from Boehringer Ingelheim…).

Biosolutions financing report

Today we are celebrating the release of our first biosolutions financing report. The report investigates the financing landscape of UK biosolutions – technology that uses biological processes to transform global industries, including agriculture, chemicals, materials and fuels.

As global supply chains face increasing pressure and resource volatility, biotechnology is becoming central to strengthening our strategic autonomy and ability to diversify. By driving demand for bio-based products and creating strong regional and global collaborations of like-minded nations, we can protect both our economies and the planet.

At BIA, our mission is to ensure the UK remains the global destination for this 'biorevolution.' We aren't just observing these trends; we are on the ground, championing the policy shifts and patient capital reforms needed to secure the UK’s strategic autonomy and global leadership. The future is bio-engineered, and through BIA BioSolutions, we are providing the platform to scale it.

BioSolutions UK tomorrow!

I’m excited to see so many of our UK and international friends at our inaugural BioSolutions UK conference – the definitive industry event where engineering, biology and innovation converge to support companies to grow, scale and succeed. Designed for innovators - from start-ups spinning out fresh ideas to large corporates adopting engineering biology - this forum is a launchpad for disruptive ideas, strategic partnerships and scalable biosolutions that tackle real-world challenges.

BIA member receives Government funding for critical biosolutions technology

We’re thrilled to see that BIA member twig, which uses AI, automation and precision fermentation to create sustainable alternatives to conventional ingredients used in everyday consumer products, is one of the six companies to receive support through the Sovereign AI Unit. The newly launched £500 million effort aims to back British AI startups working in fields that could transform everyone’s lives for the better and prove critical to the UK’s national security.

Check out Ethan Almond’s blog where he discusses their success and revolutionary technology.

British Business Bank makes £100 million commitment to health technology fund

I’m also really pleased to hear the British Business Bank has agreed to make a £100 million commitment to Apposite Healthcare Growth I, a fund investing to support the growth of health technology companies, primarily in the UK. This will be the British Business Bank’s largest fund commitment to date (alongside another in SV Health Investors) – another great indicator of the potential for UK life sciences and impact of BIA’s direct influencing work on the Bank’s strategy.

The fund aims to address the shortage of scale-up capital for UK life sciences companies approaching a growth inflection, something we at BIA have long highlighted as the UK’s Achilles’ heel. It will invest in UK companies developing market leading technologies and services to improve patient outcomes and access to healthcare, while enabling them to compete globally and create highly skilled jobs.

Breaking news! Boehringer Ingelheim invests £150 million in AI Hub at Kings Cross

Great to be part of the event this morning at Wellcome to announce a key strategic investment of £150 million over 10 years from Boehringer Ingelheim. Their AI Hub will develop talent in a highly specialised unit focused on the intersection of AI and drug discovery. Significant recognition of London and the UK as a world-class centre with a thriving ecosystem and talent pool, strong drive for innovation and commitment from Government.

On a similar theme, I’ll be on a panel at The TechBio Shift: Powering the Next Era of Life Sciences in London, co-hosted by The Knowledge Quarter and Venture Café London, discussing where TechBio is heading to in the UK innovation landscape. We will talk about innovation, policy and transforming patient care through cutting-edge discoveries. Hope to see some of you there.

UK COVID-19 inquiry on vaccines

BIA is honoured to have played a crucial role in the Vaccine Taskforce, and our sector should take pride in how we collectively addressed the COVID-19 threat. This is why we welcome the publication of the COVID-19 Inquiry report on vaccines and therapeutics, including recognition of the large part BIA played in bringing deep manufacturing expertise and our network to bear in the Vaccine Taskforce, expediting the rapid development of vaccines and therapeutics at a crucial time.

The inquiry identified a number of key elements of the UK response that enabled effective vaccines and therapeutics within less than a year of the pandemic threat emerging, highlighting the impact of our sector:

• the rapid and coordinated funding for research into vaccines and therapeutics
• an expedited regulatory approval and recruitment system for clinical trials, as well as expedited authorisation of new vaccines and therapeutics, without compromising on public safety
• the rapid establishment of specialist vaccine and therapeutic taskforces, which brought together national expertise and acted decisively to coordinate the search for effective vaccines and drugs; and
• the adoption of an at-risk approach to vaccine procurement by funding research on and development of a wide range of vaccine candidates, knowing that some would not be successful, to create as many opportunities as possible to discover an effective vaccine.

The report recognised the incredible work of so many individuals across the sector and specifically noted that key external appointments to the Vaccine Taskforce included Ian McCubbin, from BIA's bioprocessing community, and Steve Bates, our former Chief Executive Officer.

We welcome the report’s recommendations, which are to:

• establish a pharmaceutical expert advisory panel
• formalise work with communities about vaccine equity strategies
• improve monitoring and evaluation of vaccine uptake and delivery
• proportionate access to linked healthcare records for use in the assessment of safety signals
• reform the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme.

BIA influence ensures medicines manufacturers’ energy costs are reduced

We welcome the Government’s response to the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) consultation, which reflects many of the points we submitted as a joint response with ABPI to the consultation, delivering a more workable, SME-friendly scheme. BICS will reduce electricity costs for eligible manufacturing sites by exempting them from key policy levies from April 2027, with a payment at launch to reflect support backdated to April 2026. Crucially, the Government has dropped the proposed company level electricity intensity test, and will instead assess electricity intensity at sector level, reducing burden on companies.

This is a significant outcome for UK life sciences manufacturers and something BIA has been fighting for. Eligible companies are expected to benefit from support of around £35 to £40/MWh, reflecting both the scale of the opportunity for our members and the tangible impact of our engagement in shaping a scheme that works for the sector.

Latest results on clinical trials

The Department of Health and Social Care has published new data highlighting the progress being made in reducing setup times for clinical trials as part of the 150-day target. It is encouraging to see the progress being made to accelerate the set up of commercial clinical trials in the NHS, which is translating into real benefits for patients and the economy. This is a testament to the collaborative efforts of stakeholders across the clinical ecosystem, which BIA has been pleased to support.

BIA secured a commitment in the Life Sciences Sector Plan for NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research) to substantially enhance its service to biotech SMEs. This is key to hitting the target and ensuring the benefits are felt for all patients and across the whole sector. We’re holding another roundtable next week for members with NIHR to keep the positive progress going.