CEO Update - 8 September 2025
September has got off to a busy start at BIA, with significant raises, deals, expansion and M&A activity for members; welcoming our US counterparts to London, closely monitoring UK political shuffles and the party conference action as that kicks off with Reform and some unwelcome anti-vaccine misinformation.
Welcoming UK success
Today brings the announcement that BIA member NRG Therapeutics has closed an oversubscribed £50 million Series B. The funding will allow NRG to advance its lead drug candidate through early clinical studies in ALS/MND and Parkinson’s, two neurodegenerative diseases with very high unmet medical need.
Steve Bates OBE
CEO, BIA
Last week, BIA member Charm Therapeutics, co-founded by Nobel laureate David Baker, announced an $80 million Series B raise from new and existing investors, including Nvidia. Utilising its proprietary DragonFold platform, it is seeking to design new medicines that can overcome resistance mutations while simultaneously reducing side effects.
OMass Therapeutics agreed a licensing and collaboration deal with Genentech, part of the Roche Group, for its preclinical programme in inflammatory bowel disease. The agreement brings $20 million upfront and potential milestone payments of more than $400 million, alongside tiered royalties.
Congenica announced its strategic acquisition by SeqOne, creating the largest global 'software pure player' in the clinical genomics space, whilst maintaining UK presence at the renowned Wellcome Sanger Institute.
Another member, Camena Bioscience, pioneering DNA synthesis technology from its HQ in Cambridge, has raised an unspecified amount of new funding, according to founder and CEO Steve Harvey.
All fantastic news as UK companies win the confidence of global investors, attracting significant international capital and operating with a global outlook while retaining their base in the UK.
Growth in UK TechBio
More good news in UK TechBio as Steve Bates and Jane Wall visited Relation’s expanded offices at Regent’s Place – proud to christen the mugs with David Roblin and Rosie Rodriguez and to get a great view of the shiny new One Triton Square from some of the best laboratory window views on offer. We’ll be celebrating the opening of One Triton Square at TechBioUK, where we are thrilled to have them as headline sponsors of the event this year. Make sure you check out the TechBio UK website and get your tickets booked.
Innovation to take centre stage at TechBio Boost The Retreat
At today’s TechBio Boost Retreat, we are looking forward to hearing from the CEO of an incredible UK success story, Organox, an Oxford University spinout recently acquired for £1.5 billion. This will be just one of the highlights at our invite-only event for past and present TechBio Boost cohorts featuring workshops, thought leadership and great networking opportunities.
BIO delegation visits London
Last week, BIA worked with BIO to ensure they had a full and impactful visit – more evidence of the increasing interest from global players in the UK and the enduring link between UK and US. It was great to see BIA members out in force on Wednesday evening, where Steve Bates received thanks for his long-standing collaboration with BIO in his tenure as CEO of BIA.
New role open: Content and Communications Executive
BIA is currently recruiting a Content and Communications Executive. This is an exciting role in a growing team for anyone interested in working in the life sciences sector.
Nominations for the BIA Board election close on Friday
As the deadline for nominations closes this Friday, this is the last chance for submissions from individuals interested in joining the BIA Board.
Martin Turner, Director of Policy & External Affairs, comments:
Labour ministers reshuffle
A sweeping ministerial reshuffle followed the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Angela on Friday and continued over the weekend. Details of the new structures are still emerging, though most of the departments that we engage with appear to remain largely unchanged.
There is, however, a tweaked triumvirate of ministers responsible for life sciences: Peter Kyle has become Secretary of State for Business and Trade, and Liz Kendall has taken on his former role as Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). Wes Streeting remains Secretary of State for Health.
Lord Patrick Vallance continues as a minister in DSIT, with the added responsibility of a ministerial role in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Baroness Jacqui Smith remains Skills Minister in the Department for Education but now also holds the same role in the Department for Work and Pensions – we’ll stay across what this change means for the sector.
Meanwhile, Daniel Zeichner (Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs), Feryal Clark (Minister for AI and Digital Government), and Baroness Gustafsson (Investment Minister) have all left government. Business leader Jason Stockwood replaces Baroness Gustafsson as Investment Minister, straddling the Treasury and the Department for Business and Trade, and will be awarded a peerage to take up the post.
We’ll unpack these changes, including the specific responsibilities of new junior ministers once revealed, in a blog coming soon.
Reform UK party conference: anti-vaccine rhetoric and the beginnings of a life sciences policy?
BIA attended the Reform UK party conference in Birmingham over the weekend for the first time. With four MPs, seven councils and a lead in most national voting intention polls, the party is a growing force in UK politics.
Dr Aseem Malhotra’s speech from the main stage of the conference hit the headlines after he voiced claims that the Covid vaccine is “highly likely” to have been a factor in members of the royal family developing cancer. He also stated that clinical trials published in journals couldn’t be trusted and accused the pharmaceutical industry of hiding the truth about medicines and vaccines by paying publishers, regulators and the medical profession. Dr Malhotra is advising Robert F Kennedy on FDA policy and was introduced by Party Chairman Dr David Bull as being his co-author for the party’s health policy, so his views will be very significant as the party prepares for the next general election, which leader Nigel Farage believes will come as early as 2027.
Elsewhere at the conference, we heard the party’s head of policy, Zia Yusuf, highlight the UK’s failure to commercialise science and tech due to a lack of growth capital, and Reform UK Mayor of Lincolnshire, Andrea Jenkyns, spoke passionately about her county’s strength in agritech and opportunity to make the UK a science superpower.
BIA engages all political parties to ensure the UK remains a great environment for innovative life sciences and biotech. We’ll continue to follow and engage with Reform UK on behalf of members as they develop their policy platform.
BIA continues to keep precision breeding at the forefront in the EU/UK realignment
Last week, BIA submitted a response to the EFRA committee's inquiry into Animal and Plant Health, focusing on the potential implications of an EU/UK agreement for the UK's biotech sector. We strongly welcome closer trade arrangements with the EU; at the same time, we see the UK's Precision Breeding Act 2023 as a piece of legislative achievement that created a globally competitive environment and has already attracted investment. The EU's stance in this area is still developing and while we welcome any trade benefits that can be secured, we are working to ensure that any regulatory advantages we currently have are retained.