TechBio UK 2024: Good news for the UK at the intersection of technology and life sciences

TechBio UK, the BIA’s annual event showcasing the work of innovative companies operating at the interface of biotechnology and technology, took place in London last week. Bristows attended the event, which included lively sessions on the state of the techbio landscape in the UK, advice for techbio companies from founders and investors on setting themselves up for success, and panel discussions on AI, proteomics and engineering biology. Here are a few of the key themes that emerged.

1. Questions of definition: what is techbio?

So far, the most successful and high profile examples of techbio have been seen in the use of AI technology to accelerate drug discovery processes, to optimise clinical trial design and to enhance diagnostics. Successes in these areas have generated excitement about the potential for techbio to drive innovation in the industry, with one speaker commenting that “everyone wants to be techbio now”. Beyond the more tried and tested use in drug discovery platforms, speakers pointed to further potential for innovation across the value chain, including use of data-driven technology in clinical decision support, measuring patient outcomes and drug development. We were also reminded that techbio embraces any innovation at the intersection of technology and life sciences. While AI technologies in drug discovery may be the most prominent example, techbio extends to many other exciting areas such as proteomics (powered by access to high quality data and unprecedented computing power) and robotics.

2. Predicting a bright future for techBio in the UK

The UK is fertile ground for techbio development and commercialisation. Features of the UK’s innovation landscape that support this include the UK’s strong base in biotechnology research and innovation, in particular within the “golden triangle” of London, Oxford and Cambridge (although attendees were also urged to look beyond start-ups based in the golden triangle to those such as Wrexham’s Aparito). This deep biotechnology expertise and track record, combined with the UK’s role as a centre of data science, makes it an attractive environment for those looking to invest in techbio.

Speakers highlighted a couple of good news stories for techbio in the UK. Firstly, the award of this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Professor Demis Hassabis and Professor John Jumper of Google DeepMind (with David Baker). The award was made in recognition of AlphaFold, the AI model for predicting the structure of all known proteins, described as a “dizzying development for the benefit of humankind”. Secondly, the UK government’s announcement that Lilly intends to invest £279 million to establish its first ‘Gateway Labs’ innovation accelerator in Europe as part of a collaborative partnership with the UK government, focussing on “tackling significant health challenges”.

3. Lost in translation?

Speakers highlighted the importance for techbio innovation of putting together multidisciplinary teams with the right mix of expertise and, crucially, the need to facilitate a strong level of understanding and communication between biologists and data scientists. Whilst the talent pool in both biotechnology and data sciences is extremely strong, collaboration is key. The challenge is making sure that those from different disciplines can “speak the same language”. Those who can bridge that gap have an extremely valuable skill set. Biotechnology and med tech are highly regulated fields, and involving and integrating individuals with a strong understanding of the regulatory landscape, as well as those who can analyse the intellectual property position, is also critical.

4. Access to data is vital

Access to rich, high quality sources of data will be a crucial driver of success in the techbio field. Speakers praised the UK government’s past investment in initiatives such as the UK BioBank. However, there was also recognition that access to data, and especially NHS England data, remains a key challenge for innovators. Hopes for progress have been raised by UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting’s announcement of plans to improve the sharing of primary care health data for scientific research, particularly in relation to primary care data from GP health records. At TechBio UK 2024, researchers working in the field indicated that this would be a welcome and much-needed step.

For more on the BIA’s TechBio initiatives to support the field, and a snapshot of the sector in the UK, you can find the BIA’s 2024 TechBio report here.