Q3 UK biotech VC up 44% as sector heads for record year

• Venture capital investment in UK biotech was £270 million in Q3, up 44% year-on-year.
• Venture investment for 2026 so far is £2.8 billion, already more than in any full year from 2022 to 2025 and close to the £3 billion raised in 2021.
• The high-grossing year has been driven by multiple megadeals, masking continuing weakness in early-stage financing and UK institutional engagement.
• The UK retained Europe’s biotech venture capital top spot, with 26% of the continent’s total.
• UK biotech raised £421 million in total equity in Q3, up 113% on Q3 2025.

London, 26 October 2026 – UK biotech venture capital investment reached £270 million, up 44% from £187 million in Q3 2025, according to new figures from the BioIndustry Association (“BIA”), as the sector heads for its best year since 2021.

Biotech shows strength against broader UK venture capital market

The latest upswing comes as overall UK venture capital investment declines year-on-year*.

While the quarter for biotech venture investment fell below Q2 2026 (£2.1 billion), which was dominated by Isomorphic Labs' £1.6 billion Series B financing, this quarter-on-quarter drop is in line with broader UK venture investment trends**.

This quarter’s sum takes the sector's total venture investment for 2026 so far to £2.8 billion, already more than in any full year from 2022 to 2025. The record year for UK biotech venture fundraising was 2021, when £3 billion was raised. However, 2026 has been boosted by Isomorphic’s £1.6 billion raise, and CellCentric’s £163 million raise, both in Q2.

Basecamp Research led the quarter with a £104 million Series C, which it will use to train its next generation of AI models and propel AI-designed medicines towards the clinic.

NVIDIA, which counts Basecamp among the UK start-ups it backs, announced new planned investments in two more London AI biology companies this month. This is a strong indicator that the UK is where life sciences and AI come together, validated by big pharma and big tech piling into the market.

UK biotech raised £421 million in total equity in Q3, up 113% on Q3 2025 (£198 million).

UK retains Europe top spot for biotech venture capital

The UK has again retained its position as the top destination for venture capital investment, raising 26% of the European total, which came to £1.1 billion.

Public markets still lag

Follow-on financing reached £151 million, but Silence Therapeutics’ £130 million NASDAQ raise accounts for most of that. The UK biotech IPO winter has also continued, with no IPOs for 17 quarters.

Autumn Budget 2026

The Chancellor delivers his Budget this Wednesday, 28 October. Outside the megadeals, many companies continue to face access to finance challenges and reliance on overseas capital, which is holding back growth. To maintain this year’s momentum and ensure a strong pipeline of start-ups and scale-ups in the UK, BIA is urging Government to:

• bring more of the allocated UKRI and Innovate UK funding forward into 2027-2028
• expand BBB’s budget for direct and fund-of-funds investments
• actively direct pension fund investment into venture capital or BBB, and co-develop new instruments with the sector that connect it with the City
• support founders and funders with fiscal incentives to reinvest proceeds
• protect R&D tax credits.

Chris Molloy, CEO of BIA, said:

The pattern this year is clear: UK science attracts expert global capital, but we are missing an opportunity to see returns recycled in our own ecosystem, because too few British investors are taking part. This is true in both private and public markets.

Our focus is on making sure companies at all stages of development can access the finance they need to grow, and that the UK benefits from the upside. Government has a vital role to play in getting the environment right for that, and in incentivising wealth creators to recycle their gains.

Government can enable UK biotech companies to make the most of that increased investment and drive economic activity in the UK, if they have preferential access to UK R&D infrastructure and are supported by a tax system, with enhanced R&D tax credits, and incentives for reinvestment, at its core.

ENDS

Notes to editors

*UK venture capital investment stood at $6.1 billion in Q3 2026, compared to $9.3 billion in Q3 2025, according to data from Dealroom.co and HSBC Innovation Banking’s UK Innovation Update.

**UK venture capital investment stood at $6.1 billion in Q3 2026, compared to $9.5 billion in Q2 2026, according to data from Dealroom.co and HSBC Innovation Banking’s UK Innovation Update.

BIA’s submission to Autumn Budget 2026

About the BioIndustry Association (BIA):

The BioIndustry Association (BIA) is the voice of the innovative life sciences and biotech industry, enabling and connecting the UK ecosystem so that businesses can start, grow and deliver world-changing innovation.

BIA has over 600 members spanning human health and non-health biotech, including start-ups, scale-ups and established global companies. Membership also encompasses the full UK ecosystem, including non-commercial research institutions and service providers. BioIndustry Association | BIA