3 minute read
Foreword
Karen Southern
Editor in chief
Advertisement
Editor
Karen Southern karen.southern@distinctivegroup.co.uk
Design
Distinctive Media Group Ltd, 3rd Floor, Tru Knit House, 9-11 Carliol Square, Newcastle, NE1 6UF Tel: 0191 580 5990 distinctivegroup.co.uk
Advertising
Distinctive Media Group Ltd, 3rd Floor, Tru Knit House, 9-11 Carliol Square, Newcastle, NE1 6UF Tel: 0191 580 5477 e: liz.hughes@distinctivegroup.co.uk distinctivegroup.co.uk
Distinctive Media Group Ltd or BioScience Today cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies that may occur, individual products or services advertised or late entries. No part of this publication may be reproduced or scanned without prior written permission of the publishers and BioScience Today.
Well, it certainly looks like life sciences in the UK are thriving.
The first quarter of the year was the best ever for UK biotech venture capital (VC) financing, outstripping both the US and China. Over £450m has been raised in that timeframe alone, according to a new report by the BioIndustry Association (BIA) and Clarivate.
The report also celebrates a number of significant developments which help maintain the UK’s status as a global hub for the biotech and life sciences sector. For example, Altos Labs, backed by Jeff Bezos, which has chosen Cambridge as its European base, and EyeBio, founded by American entrepreneurs and chaired by Dame Kate Bingham, which has also established a UK footprint. Also highlighted in the report is the tremendous regulatory success scored in innovative therapies with the recent FDA approval of the CAR-T therapy by Oxford biotech Immunocore. There’s also been sizeable manufacturing investment with the opening of Cytiva’s £300m facility in Cardiff, and Jazz Pharmaceuticals’ £75m investment at Kent Science Park.
As Steve Bates OBE, Chief Executive of the BIA, points out: “In 2022 the UK is the place in the world where global biotech capital works hardest. This quarter the UK continues to attract investment because companies engaged in and operating from here are able to be operationally more efficient than elsewhere in the globe. “That’s because the UK has depth in great science, quality talent, vital genomics and AI capability, modern and growing infrastructure, a competitive tax regime, a collaborative regulator, and a proven entrepreneurial track record of being able to do complex things fast – demonstrated by the Vaccine Taskforce way of delivering. This strong base enables UK life science firms to outcompete peers in other clusters.
“As a result, our sector is well poised to deliver further economic benefit to UK taxpayers and local economies, with laboratory space set to be a key part of the British high street and office space, and sector investments occurring in all areas of the UK delivering high skilled well-paid jobs. Dr Martin Turner, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at the BIA, added: “While the IPO window may be closed for now, the vast majority of companies have healthy cash runways and will benefit from the talented scientists, data and infrastructure that make the UK ecosystem unique. This recipe for success is why the UK once again accounts for a third of all European private biotech finance raised and demonstrates comparative advantages to make it the best place in the world to start and grow a biotech company.” In the issue of Bioscience Today, we are more than happy to celebrate homegrown success stories such as Immunotec, the only company in the world offering regulated ELISPOT assays for T cell measurement. We also delve into the world of synthetic DNA through the revolutionary research carried out by Evonetix, and also Actigen, whose admirable work focuses on identifying and developing biological medicines for the 300m people affected globally by diseases with unmet medical needs, such as Hunter syndrome.
