TechBio UK 2025: A view from the conference and beyond

On 16 October 2025, Adam Coughlin, Naoise Gaffney and Samuel Munday from Bristows attended TechBio UK, an annual conference hosted by the Bioindustry Association (BIA) in London.

At its core, the Techbio sector involves the combination of innovative biotechnology with cutting-edge data science to impact and improve all facets of drug discovery. It remains a trailblazing and exciting area of the UK life sciences industry; as evidenced, in fact, by the success stories of many of the companies and institutions attending the conference.

The Government’s Life Sciences Sector Plan describes Techbio as “one of the most dynamic areas of growth” in the life sciences sector and it is clearly of strategic importance for the UK economy. Nevertheless, nearly all speakers at the conference acknowledged the fact that, over the last three years or so, the lack of investment opportunities have been a significant hurdle for companies in this space - especially for the earliest-stage SMEs at the, supposed, “riskier end of the market”. 

This disconnection between the growth potential (and strategic importance) of the sector and the lack of investment opportunities was a central theme permeating the conference discussion. However, overwhelmingly, the consensus seemed to be that the fabled “green shoots” are beginning to appear – with an ever-increasing optimism that returning market confidence and liquidity were just around the corner. 

In delivering his keynote presentation, Chris Gibson (the Founder and CEO of Recursion Pharmaceuticals) highlighted the, sometimes contradictory, media narrative in respect of the current UK life sciences industry. The presentation referenced the splash of positive news stories following the announcement of the so-called “Tech Prosperity Deal”, where major US tech firms pledged tens of billions of pounds of investment into the UK AI sector. Alongside these stories sat headlines from various news outlets, dated the very next day, bemoaning the lack of investment, and alleged lack of confidence and capital expenditure, in the UK life sciences industry. Once more, it was acknowledged that capital markets for UK life sciences companies have been undoubtedly challenging during the last few years but, in a brilliantly chosen analogy, the Techbio sector was likened to a “tugboat” for the general UK life sciences industry: smaller and nimble but with enough power to help steer the overall direction of change and growth. 

The conference touched on some of the other challenges facing the sector and, in particular, one panel discussion focused on the “roadblocks” which remain with regard to the use of AI in the Techbio space. A common area of concern related to the challenges and inefficiencies that companies face when collating disparate and complex datasets – particularly bearing in mind the fact that datasets are typically compiled using different methodologies and with alternative inherent biases. More philosophically, there was the view that historically scientific data has been generated to answer a very specific question (often narrow in scope) and that the challenge with, and indeed opportunity offered by, the use of AI should be to collate data which is able to answer a broader class of questions. On the same theme, there were calls for national (and ideally, in the longer-term, international) data standards to be implemented - with the aim of ensuring a consistency of data capture and ultimately improving the efficiency and usefulness of such datasets. Similarly, concerns were raised about the challenge (particularly for smaller companies) of complying with ever-increasing, and sometimes internationally inconsistent, regulations and laws with regard to the use of AI. However, it was of course understood that this is the “cost of doing business” in this space and that thoughtful and well-advised regulatory strategies could actually offer businesses the opportunity to grow and indeed best competitors.

Looking forward to the prospect of making companies “appealing for investors in 2025”, panellists, once more, echoed the view that the funding market has been particularly challenging over the last few years. However, promising data was cited to suggest that there has been a recent unlocking of capital and upsurge in M&A deals in the last few months (particularly within the mid-market) – albeit with the caveat that this hasn’t yet trickled down to early stage biotech in a meaningful way. A particularly interesting discussion centred around the behavioural differences between traditional tech and life sciences investors and the challenge this poses to Techbio companies when seeking investment. It was widely acknowledged that it’s crucial for Techbio companies not to give “mixed messages” when talking to the two different type of investors, particularly bearing in mind that they will certainly talk to one another. That said, the importance of giving a well-researched and tailored pitch to each type of investor was highlighted given that the two sets of investors will inevitably have differing interests and expertise (at its crudest, the technology versus the therapy). One view was shared that it would be preferable to avoid having tech and life sciences in the same funding round – i.e. to decide at the outset whether it’s a “product pitch” or a “platform pitch”. Similarly, for Techbio companies seeking potential partnership opportunities with large pharmaceutical companies, the importance of building long and deep relationships by persistently “knocking on doors and walking the conference halls” was reiterated – with panellists noting that large Pharma strategies often change fast and, for your particular niche, it’s important to strike while hot to achieve the best chance of doing a deal.

While economic, technological, legislative and cultural challenges were not shied away from during the conference, it was clear that the UK Techbio sector is currently in an exciting and promising place, with groundbreaking and innovative technology and opportunities on the horizon.

Thank you to the BIA for another excellent event and I already look forward to next year’s instalment where, no doubt, there will be more success stories to hear and share with you!