Lacklustre routes to capital mean UK biotechs are struggling to grow as fast as international rivals, according to the British BioIndustry Association (BIA).
In an industry roundtable with representatives from British biotechs, access to finance was highlighted as the most urgent barrier to growth. As per a previous report from the BIA, British equity financing and venture capital dropped 49% and 13%, respectively, in 2025 compared to 2024.
While the UK biotech sector is amongst the largest in Europe, a lack of large domestic investors and slow NHS adoption of innovation means the UK may not be able to capitalise on its competitive advantage. While there has been an uptick in equity raised by UK biotechs in Q1 2026, long-term uncertainty still remains.
According to the trade body, Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), the UK is at risk of losing its world-leading life sciences status due to investment being captured elsewhere on the international stage.
Via the BIA, the industry has called for several government initiatives: a £500m cash injection from the UK pension funds in 2028; a prioritisation of life sciences in the British Business Bank strategy and British Growth Partnership; and more involvement from ministers in securing investment from institutional investors. Maintaining and enhancing R&D tax reliefs – an incentive to reward UK companies for investing in innovation – was also underlined at the roundtable.
Other calls to arms from BIA members included a stronger commercial pathway for startups, improved NHS data and clinical trial prioritisation, and improved medicine access.
The latter was the centre point of the recently agreed US-UK pharma trade deal, which saw the former country secure zero tariffs on pharmaceutical products, along with committing to spend more on new NHS drugs. However, an analysis published in the British Medical Journal has questioned the economic efficiency of the trade deal, adding further uncertainty to the future of pharmaceutical innovation in the UK.
The pharmaceutical industry is critical to the UK Government’s long-term plans to boost the life science sector, contributing £17.6bn in direct gross value added (GVA) annually to the economy.
Dr Zubir Ahmed, MP and previous under-secretary for health and social care, was present at the roundtable. He said: “Life sciences is one of Britain's great success stories and is the route back to place-based economic growth. We have world-renowned doctors, scientists and clinical academics pushing the boundaries every single day in a universal health service that serves the whole nation and treats every patient.
“The challenge and opportunity now are to turn that passion and hunger for discovery into companies that have the confidence to start, scale and stay in the UK. Today's discussion was a valuable opportunity to hear directly from industry about how we can unlock investment, accelerate innovation and ensure patients benefit more quickly from the next generation of medicines and technologies.”
