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ARTICLE · 08 OCTOBER 2024

Can The UK's Life Sciences Sector Secure The Funding It Needs?

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The UK life sciences sector faces challenges in early-stage funding, with investors being more conservative than their US counterparts. Improving access to capital and strategic planning is essential to maintain the UK's competitive edge in this critical industry.

United KingdomFinance and Banking
Susanna Stanfield
Susanna Stanfield
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Life sciences are a vital growth sector for the UK. The sector contributed £12 billion to the economy in 2023, while in a sign of the country's international reputation for research, Merck recently announced it will invest £1 billion to build a new research facility in London. However, at the recent Cambridge Tech Week (September 2024) our life sciences team heard concerns that innovators need support to help the UK maintain its leading position in the sector.

"Raising capital in the UK – particularly very early – is still difficult, in particular for 'thesis' (i.e. great ideas, little data) based businesses within life sciences and healthcare," said Daniel Rooke, co-founder and COO of Start Codon, a Cambridge-based venture capital investor and venture builder.

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