Boom year for UK life science investment

An analysis of investment in life sciences in European capital cities has shown London raised the most in 2017, reaching nearly £1bn.

The findings are from MedCity, set up to promote and grow life sciences industry in The Golden Triangle of Cambridge, London, Oxford and the Greater South East. They show some of the biggest deals of the year included Orchard Therapeutics raising $110 million in series B funding; immunotherapy company, Autolus, raising $80m; and Imperial College London spin-out, Cell Medica, closing a £60m Series C round.

Rajesh Agrawal, Deputy Mayor of London for Business, said: “London is one of Europe’s leading destinations for life sciences investment, which is testament to the innovation emerging from our world-leading universities, companies and research institutions. We are pioneering cutting-edge technologies, life-changing treatments and ground-breaking programmes – the capital offers a huge number of opportunities for investors to support creativity across our thriving life sciences sector.”

Oxford and Cambridge also attracted significant funding in 2017; Oxford-based Immunocore announced investment of $40m by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop immunotherapies for infectious diseases and Cambridge Medical Robotics, a developer of robotic systems for universal minimal access surgery, closed its Series A funding round, raising $46 million in total. Investment into university spinouts reached record levels in 2017, with spinouts from Cambridge University, University of Oxford and Imperial College London raising the most.

Sarah Haywood the CEO of MedCity, said: “The pace of innovation in the life sciences sector, from genomics to digital health and gene therapies, coupled with a fertile funding environment and supportive regulatory system, has helped fuel this record investment into companies across London, Cambridge and Oxford. The enthusiasm for UK life sciences is encouraging new UK and global investors to plough money into our resilient sector and its spread of life sciences companies.”