UK Biotech Pleas for Investment as Sector Faces Crisis Point

More than 200 chief executives from the world of British biotechnology have united in a passionate appeal to the Chancellor, warning that proposed increases in taxes or business rates for innovative life sciences companies would risk the sector’s future. The industry, vital to the government’s industrial strategy, remains mired in a severe funding drought, with even investable ventures struggling to secure capital for growth and retention within the UK.

In a letter addressed to Rachel Reeves, the business secretary, industry leaders insisted that the long-term benefits of supporting life sciences far outweigh transient fiscal concerns. Their message is clear—without government intervention and renewed commitment to investment, Britain stands to lose some of its most promising companies, expertise, and economic ambition in innovation.

The signatories include Gordon Sanghera of Oxford Nanopore Technologies, Jane Osbourn of Alchemab Therapeutics, and Lisa Anson of Redx Pharma. The letter called for urgent action, notably through accelerating British Business Bank and Innovate UK funding for immediate working capital, enhancing R&D tax relief and venture schemes targeted at knowledge-intensive firms, and taking further steps to unleash investment from pension funds under the Mansion House reforms.

Recent data from the UK BioIndustry Association highlighted an investment landscape coloured by caution, with later-stage businesses sometimes succeeding in accessing capital but many earlier-stage, high-potential companies locked out. While ministers have dubbed biotech an economic strength, research by the British Property Federation warns that over 100 UK laboratories and R&D facilities could face a £50 million annual rise in business rates next year.

This call to action coincided with a House of Lords Science and Technology Committee report, branding the current state of company retention and growth as a crisis causing the UK economy to bleed out. Recommendations from this report include the creation of a National Council for Science, Technology and Growth directly led by the prime minister, the consolidation of major public investment bodies, reform of visa policy to attract talent, and considering compelled pension fund investment in UK innovation.

Industry voices argue that only by redoubling investment efforts and strategic direction, rather than seeking short-term economies, can the UK protect and amplify its standing as a hub for scientific and medical progress.