CEO Update - 6 May 2025

Mansion House off track – mandation needed

Deeply worrying signs this weekend that the next steps on the Mansion House reforms to get UK investors to back the future of the UK economy and our sector are off track. According to the Sunday Times a planned Mansion House 2 announcement has been delayed from this week, with a City source saying the entire agenda is “a solution in search of a problem.”

Let’s be clear that the problem of not backing UK companies to global scale remains clear for the future growth of the UK economy, and not just in our sector.

Steve Bates OBE
CEO, BIA

Today, we are publishing our latest quarterly finance report which shows that despite the commitments made under the Mansion House Compact,  there is still no meaningful participation from UK pension funds in supporting the growth of UK life science sector. BIA member companies are hungry for investment and offer incredible innovation and growth prospects, as landmark fundraises from Isomorphic Labs and Verdiva Bio attest. Even without UK pension fund support our sector raised more venture capital this quarter than any other country in Europe, as the UK stands out as the most robust life sciences ecosystem for investment.

Also today, new data has been published by the British Venture Capital Association, which shows that despite almost double the amount of funds raised across all sectors in 2024 compared to 2023, pension fund commitments continue to be dominated by overseas schemes. The BVCA report identified significant commitments into UK venture by US pension funds, however data collected does not yet show commitments from UK pension funds.

Yet we see today another acquisition of UK scale up company Deliveroo, the food delivery app by US based DoorDash, 12 years on from its foundation and 4 years after floating on the UK stock exchange. The deal values the British business at £2.9 billion, and if it goes through, it means the growth potential and returns from year 12 of this UK scale-up will be realised by the US business, with no formal commitment to future jobs and growth in the UK in the initial takeover documents.

This is the problem. If UK financial institutions are not prepared to back UK innovation and growth, the chances of UK companies growing to their full potential will be forever limited by the lack of ambition and vision of some in the City of London who are happy to invest UK taxpayers pensions in a supine and passive way that underperforms actively managed platforms here and around the world.

If the City of London is not prepared to match the ambition of innovators and the UK government in backing the UK to go for growth it is time to mandate tax supported investment vehicles (which UK pension funds are) to back British success like our life science sector. 

UK pioneers fridge-free vaccines

In yet another global first for the sector, and continuing work set in train under the UK Vaccine Taskforce, British SME Stablepharma has launched the world's first clinical trial of a "fridge-free" vaccine. This vaccine can be stored at room temperature for up to 18 months and will, if successful, revolutionise how vaccines are deployed around the world. Around half of vaccines are wasted globally each year, according to the World Health Organization. One of the biggest barriers that limits access to vaccines is the international, temperature-controlled supply chain (cold chain). This cold chain is complex, costly and requires vast amounts of energy that lead to carbon emissions. The trial, conducted at University Hospital Southampton, is a great example of the type of investment opportunity our sector provides, that some in the City of London want to ignore, focusing solely on leveraging government debt. Perhaps you can feel my frustration this week!

NHS first to adopt injectable immunotherapy in Europe, while NHS app saves 5.7 million staff hours

On the plus side, it’s great to see innovation in the NHS adopting new drugs and technology as part of its reform programme, and two stories caught my attention last week.

The first is that NHS England is the first health service in Europe to offer patients the injectable form of the BMS’s immunotherapy Opdivo drug (nivolumab). This new method is approved for treating 15 types of cancer, including lung, kidney, and skin cancers, and is expected to benefit around 1,200 patients per month. This will reduce administration time from up to an hour to just five minutes, significantly benefiting cancer patients and their care teams. The second story regards the NHS App, which has seen significant expansion. It is now utilized by 87% of hospitals—a nearly 20% increase since July 2024. This digital transformation has prevented 1.5 million missed hospital appointments, saving approximately 5.7 million staff hours. Working with the cutting edge of drug discovery and tech is how the NHS will transform itself and it's great to see this in action – even if it will take a while for this to be felt by the majority of patients.

NHS broadens access to weight-loss injections

In an effort to tackle obesity, the NHS is set to broaden access to weight-loss injections, such as Wegovy, by making them available at community pharmacies following a brief consultation. This move was briefed to newspapers, as England went to the polls for a series of local elections that led to significant gains by the Reform party, but has not yet been formally announced and signals a further shift in radical thinking about changing emphasis from treatment to prevention.

Deep Biotech: a blueprint for the future

Last week, BIA published its Deep Biotech report. Focusing on a new generation of biology-powered companies utilising tools such as AI and synthetic biology to create jobs, propel economic growth, tackle climate change, and mitigate threats to global sustainability, it details how, between 2018 and 2024, UK Deep Biotech companies secured £1.09 billion in private investment and £132 million in grants, including £80.6 million from Innovate UK. This updated report comes as the BIA once again leads the UK Pavillion at SynBioBeta 2025. The BIA will be actively engaging with attendees at SynBioBeta to discuss the findings of the report and the opportunities within the UK Deep Biotech and broader synthetic biology sector. Accompanying the report you will find a concise, shareable infographic summarising key data points and highlighting the impact of Deep Biotech.

The BIA believes this updated report will be an invaluable resource for investors seeking opportunities in sustainable innovation, policymakers aiming to foster a thriving Deep Biotech ecosystem, and industry leaders looking to collaborate on transformative solutions.

Tariffs - BIA submission to government

Taking on member views, we’ve made a submission to the Department for Business and Trade, on the products that could be subject to retaliatory tariffs from the UK if a deal can’t be reached with the US administration. Pharmaceutical products are largely excluded from the list of potential targets this time around, which we welcomed, but we highlighted other products used in the supply chain and R&D that could cause problems for the sector and asked for them not to be targeted for tariffs. We also raised our broader concerns about the impact of the US Administration's actions on science funding, FDA jobs, and policy thinking around capital controls that could be extremely harmful to UK life science companies. These are just as much of a concern as tariffs and should be part of the US-UK deal currently being negotiated.   

I am really looking forward to discussions at the Mayor of London’s Mansion House dinner tomorrow night and will report back next week. Wish me luck.