UK’s biotech industry flourished in 2021 with an inflow of capital from both domestic and international investors. A record £2,518 million was invested into private UK biotechs in 2021, according to the latest report published by the UK’s BioIndustry Association (BIA) and Clarivate.
The 2020 stats surpassed that of 2019, and 2021 has kept the same pace. Oxford recorded the most Biopharma funding in 2021. This was in no small part thanks to Exscientia and Vaccitech’s $525M and $168M investments respectively, both companies also had their initial public offering in 2021.
Exscientia, an AI drug discovery small molecules company focused on multiple therapy areas moved rapidly through VC stages in 2021. With a Series C VC funding of $100M in March and a Series D of $525M in April. Exscientia’s $525M investment from SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Novo Holdings, Blackrock and others was the peak VC investment in 2021. This is a significant increase compared to Immunocore Limited’s Serie B $130M which was the most VC investment in 2020.
Vaccitech a spin-out company from the University of Oxford’s Jenner Institute focused on the discovery and development of immunotherapeutics and the birthplace of the COVID-19 vaccine technology. A total of 168M was raised in their series B in March 2021.
Other notable companies in the UK most focused on multiple therapy areas including Oncology, Immunology and Neuroscience with a mix of modalities.
Month | Stage | Company | Amount (M) | Investors | Modality | Submodality | Therapy Area |
February | Series C | Evox Therapeutics | $95.4 | COWEN; Eli Lilly; GV; Invus; OrbiMed Advisors & Others | Biologics | Multiple | Multiple |
March | Series C | Exscientia | $100 | BlackRock; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Evotec; GT Capital & Others | Small Molecule | Synthetic | Multiple |
March | Series B | Vaccitech | $168 | Future Planet Capital; Oxford Sciences Innovation; Gilead Sciences & Others | Biologics | Gene Therapy | Multiple |
March | Series C | Gyroscope Therapeutics | $148 | Forbion’s Growth Opportunities Fund; Sofinnova Investments; Fosun Pharma & Others | Biologics | Gene Therapy | Sensory |
April | Series A | Alchemab Therapeutics | $82.4 | RA Capital Management; SV Health Investors; Dementia Discovery Fund & Others | Biologics | Protein/Antibodies | Multiple |
April | Series D | Exscientia ( AI ) | $525 | SoftBank Vision Fund 2; Novo Holdings; Blackrock & Others | Small Molecule | Synthetic | Multiple |
May | Series C | Pulmocide | $92 | Adjuvant Capital; Asahi Kasei; F-Prime Capital; IP Group; Jeito & Others | Small Molecule | Synthetic | Anti-Infectives |
June | Early Stage VC | Apollo Therapeutics | $145 | Patient Square Capital; Reimagined Ventures; Rock Springs Capital & Others | Multiple | Multiple | Multiple |
July | Series C | Artios | $153 | Omega Funds; TCG X; Avidity Partners &Others | Biologics | Protein | Oncology |
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