Deep biotech: a year of progress in policy
The policy landscape for deep biotech has seen remarkable strides over the past year, positioning the UK as a leader in engineering biology innovation. At every stage, BIA has championed the sector and promoted our vision of a thriving deep biotech ecosystem. In this article, Maddie Cass, Senior Policy and Public Affairs Executive, reflects on the BIA’s key wins from the past year.
Community launch
A key milestone has been the launch of our dedicated deep biotech community. This new forum brings together brings together an exclusive group of industry and academic innovators to share insights, build connections, and help shape our work. The first community event is approaching – join our community now in order to secure your place and receive regular updates on our policy work.
New report with fresh analysis
We also published an updated edition of our Deep Biotech report, with original data on the UK’s investment landscape, five new case studies of innovative SMEs, and a refreshed policy section. It features our deep biotech policy asks across three priority areas: finance, infrastructure and regulation. These recommendations were developed through extensive consultation with our membership and underpin our engagement with government and regulators.
Regulatory progress
Regulation has been high on the Government’s agenda this year, and consequently, we have seen a lot of developments in this space. We have seen legislative changes, such as the Precision Breeding Act, that are game-changing for the advent of the bioeconomy in the UK. A crucial development has been the establishment of the Regulatory Innovation Office (RIO), which has engineering biology as a priority area. The BIA has engaged extensively with RIO, ensuring that the perspectives of SMEs and innovators are reflected in policy discussions and regulatory strategies.
As a part of this ongoing dialogue with regulators, BIA presented to the Engineering Biology Regulators Network (EBRN), a collaborative forum for regulatory coordination across 12 UK regulators and multiple government departments. In February 2025, we shared seven case studies of innovative companies facing a regulatory challenge with regulators. Currently, we have an active programme of work coordinating industry’s perspective on regulation in order to feed that back to regulators. We want to ensure that regulators have a clear understanding of the impact of the current regulatory regime on innovation, so that they can make the best use of regulatory innovation opportunities such as round two of the Engineering Biology Sandbox Fund and the Regulators’ Pioneer Fund. Get in touch if you have a regulatory barrier to share.
The Regulatory Horizons Council (RHC) published its long-awaited report on Engineering Biology Governance, which offered key recommendations to shape the regulatory landscape. In response, the Government acknowledged the importance of ensuring that the pipeline of innovations in engineering biology informs standards and regulation. Trade associations were cited by the RHC as potential conduits for this information, reinforcing their role in bridging the gap between industry and regulators. The BIA remains committed to supporting this, ensuring that engineering biology can flourish under a well-informed regulatory framework. The Government also commented on Digital Sequence Information (DSI), recognising the importance of access to and utilisation of genetic resources for the engineering biology sector. If you want to learn more about DSI, sign up for our webinar on 26 June.
Tackling the infrastructure and finance challenge
An area of key policy focus is advocating for an improved financial landscape to enable the development of deep biotech pilot and scale-up infrastructure. We have been advancing this agenda through several routes, including through our evidence submitted to the House of Lords inquiry into engineering biology, and by linking key industry voices to the Engineering Biology Advisory Panel (EBAP) and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). We also ensured that infrastructure support for deep biotech was highlighted as a key priority in our submission to the Treasury’s consultation on the National Wealth Fund.
Championing UK deep biotech on the international stage
For the second consecutive year, we hosted the UK Pavilion at SynBioBeta 2025, showcasing the powerhouse of UK innovation to a global audience. This initiative provided our members with unprecedented exposure to international investors, partners, and customers. The event featured Lord Willetts, Chair of the Regulatory Innovation Office, as a keynote speaker, underlining the UK’s commitment to enabling innovation through regulation.
We continued to strengthen our ties with our European partners. As members of the European Biosolutions Coalition, we are actively engaged in discussions on advancing biosolutions in Europe. At the recent high-level summit in Brussels, Jane Wall, Managing Director, highlighted the UK’s strengths to our European colleagues, alongside Izzy Webb, DSIT Deputy Director for Technology Strategy and Security.
Looking ahead
The past year has been transformative for deep biotech, with policy advancements, regulatory engagement, and community-building efforts shaping the sector’s future. As we move forward, the BIA remains committed to advocating for innovation-friendly policies, ensuring that the UK continues to lead in engineering biology and deep biotech.