Celebrating UK biotech 2025: BIA reflections, policy wins and sector impact

Dear BIA member,

As we move towards the end of 2025, we reflect on a rollercoaster year it has been for the sector. There is no doubt that it has been an extremely challenging year for many, with the first half of the year hindered by limited funding flows for scaling companies - and increasingly, start-ups as well.  At times, the sector made headlines for the wrong reasons, particularly as VPAG discussions affected overall sentiment.

In parallel, many positive developments emerged. The Life Sciences Sector Plan, the Digital and Technologies Sector Plan and the 10-Year Health Plan were published over the summer, providing a strong direction and some firm targets for progress. We were pleased to see many BIA priorities reflected and much political will to position the UK at the forefront of innovative life sciences, engineering biology and AI globally. 2026 will be a real test of these plans and BIA will continue to advocate for their full delivery.

We also started to see some solid fundraising, which has been a strong theme as we move towards the end of the year. Good news from AAVantgarde, Accession, Cellular Origins, CHARM Therapeutics, Maxion Therapeutics, T-Therapeutics, Cyclana Bio, BoobyBiome, NRG Therapeutics, Portal Biotech, OutSee, Draig, Cellestial Health, NCIMB, Isomorphic Labs, Brainomix, TRIMTECH Therapeutics, Stablepharma and Verdiva Bio buoyed the sector in 2025, and new funds raised by SV Health Investors, Sofinnova and Medicxi promise capital to be deployed in the coming year. BIA’s campaign to unlock UK pension funds is also beginning to bear fruit, with the British Business Bank announcing a £200 million commitment by Aegon, Natwest Cushon and M&G to invest in the Bank’s portfolio, 30%  of which is life sciences. London Life Sciences Week brought international life science executives and investors to London in their droves, reflecting confidence in the UK as a global hub and a magnet for deal-making.

The Autumn Budget delivered some BIA wins in EIS, VCT and EMI schemes, ISA and stamp duty reforms and UKRI. The US/UK deal was done, providing a 0% tariff trading environment for transatlantic life sciences, and we saw an adjustment in the NICE thresholds – all demonstrating positive forward movement.

As the BIA, we have seen the departure of Steve Bates as our CEO, with him taking up the position of Executive Chair at the Office for Life Sciences. The impact we have been able to have as BIA at government level is testament to Steve’s legacy and we continue to build on that with our incredible Policy and Public Affairs team as the landscape continues to evolve. Our influence work continues to be sector-leading – and we know the prominence of life sciences in government agendas is the envy of many global counterparts, as is our Parliament Day, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this year.

The reach of our thought leadership has skyrocketed in 2025, with a 25% increase in online engagement across BIA output – thanks to the sterling work of our Marketing, Communications and Content team – with the online and data capabilities we have built enabling us to produce unique insight through reports, video and promotion of our member companies.

I hope many of you will have enjoyed BIA events in 2025 – from the Gala Dinner to BIG Women in Biotech; Future of UK Regulation to the Start-Up Festival; TechBio UK to BioProcess UK – and many, many, more – the events team continues to deliver quality at pace and scale.

BIA communities were born, increasing the levels of engagement throughout membership whilst retaining the quality of interaction and contact. We launched 11 communities, providing tailored newsletters, curated events and unique opportunities to engage across all areas of our sector.

So whilst 2025 was a rollercoaster, BIA has continued to increase its profile – highlights being our clear influence in the Life Sciences and Digital and Technologies Sector Plans and our leading role in London Life Sciences Week, which saw a huge increase in awareness for us, our members and for the UK sector. We continued to roll out industry-leading events and thought leadership. We maintained a strong presence and solid membership in the face of external headwinds, and I am incredibly proud of the BIA membership team, who also demonstrated great resilience during a period of sector upheaval and internal change.

Wishing you a restful and happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

Jane Wall
Managing Director, BIA