BioCap 2025 brings opportunities for investors and businesses to connect
Published on 26/09/2025
BioCap comprised a three-day programme, opening on 23rd September with a digital pitching competition. Firstly, congratulations to all who were invited to pitch as the judges had an incredibly tough job cutting a bumper number of entries down to the 12 shortlisted companies presented to a panel of online investors. The following day, the investor mixer provided opportunities for networking, before the main conference took place on 25th September, bringing together 164 exhibitors, speakers, and investors.
On the day, the sessions covered a range of topics, with insights from two life sciences investment outlook panel sessions, company journeys, investor insights, what makes a company scalable, reverse pitching, grants and mixed funding, and of course, the announcement of the three pitching competition finalists and the overall winner.
Investor insights were shared by sector experts Tim Davis, the Regional Head of UK Primary Markets at the London Stock Exchange; Pioneer Group’s Lead Investment Director, Imelda Juniarsih; and Tanya Moore, Investment Principal (Ventures) at Cancer Research Horizons.
Providing an Investment Overview from a UK perspective and how the UK is positioned globally, Tim Davis commented on the current state of the UK’s Healthcare Capital Raising, with £5.1bn of total capital raised and 32 deals made by healthcare companies in London in 2025 so far. However, only 15 UK healthcare companies have had an initial public offering (IPO) in the US since 2015, which is where the Capital Markets Industry Taskforce has been installed to ensure the UK is the place where great companies can start, grow, scale and stay and ensure UK investors have access to the assets that provide returns and support the real economy in which they live and work.
The Taskforce’s four main priorities include unleashing the power of UK retail investors with a recommended increase in accessibility of information for UK investors; creating a UK advantage by incentivising investment in the UK capital markets and providing access to scale-up funding; restoring the UK’s risk appetite by establishing a ‘risk on’ culture, given the confidence in the UK’s strict and prudent regulations; and the “green opportunity”, with an estimated £35 - £50bn annual investment to achieve Net Zero by 2030, backed by policy certainty.
Examining new frontiers in life science innovation, Imelda Juniarsih opened with the statistic that startups formed in the period 2005 - 2009 raised a total of £372m in those years, while companies formed in 2020 - 2024 raised just under £3bn; eight times as much. The top sectors in terms of number of new companies were identified as Pharmaceuticals (261 startups), Biotechnology (251 startups), and Biotech and AI dynamics, with over half of biotech and AI firms founded since 2020. However, there is a high turnover as many fail within five years or get acquired if they are successful.
It was also revealed that between 2020 and 2024, companies in the Northwest region raised an average of £8.91m versus £7.26m in London, thanks in part to clusters such as Alderley
Park and Manchester’s innovation district supporting the growth of firms raising significant follow-on capital, as well as the concentration of later-stage companies attracting larger individual funding rounds.
Recent high-growth sectors include synthetic biology with more than 277% growth compared to the previous period (2018-2022) and nanotechnology with 93% growth. The top grant-funded sector is biotechnology with £78.4m of investment, followed by pharmaceuticals at £71.1m and clinical research at £66.2m. This represents a big shift from the previous period, when biotech ranked only fourth. This also reflects public capital shifting toward transformative, scalable technologies and away from established areas.
The presentation concluded with some statistics from Pioneer Group’s own funding rounds, with more than 300 entrepreneurs supported, over 180 companies funded, 38% of whose founders are female, and £441 million in total investment raised.
Tanya Moore wrapped up the investor insights with “Investing in a future with less cancer’; a look at how to push oncology drugs and treatments to market effectively.
Commenting on the current oncology funding landscape, the outlook was proving challenging, namely with global geopolitical uncertainty, especially in the USA; healthcare system challenges with an aging population; investors acting more conservatively and banding together for larger rounds; Series A expectations for financing into clinic impacting seed investors; a current lack of growth capital in the UK; and the China impact, with the number of funding deals and early ventures involving drug candidates from China continuing to climb. However, there is continued interest in radiopharmaceuticals and other novel ways to tackle hard-to-drug oncology targets, as well as in neurology and immunology.
The presentation went on to give key insights into what investors want to see in a compelling proposition, including a strong differentiated, competitive position and clinical unmet need along with strong IP positions; a streamlined plan focused on critical path work and a plan for delivering successful value-creating partnerships; and a talented team and evidence of delivering tangible progress.
Tanya concluded with some tips to companies looking to secure funding, which from an investor’s point of view should include a compelling investor deck; an in-depth understanding of the competitor landscape; building investor relations early using your network and maximising advisor and KOL networks; and pursuing non-dilutive funding routes where this adds value.
Sharing two company journeys with RSM UK Co-Head of Life Sciences, Graham Bond, Eddy Littler spoke about his time as CEO and COO of ReViral as well as his newer role as Chairman of MetalloBio.
His key takeaways for other C-suite executives, and echoing investor sentiment, identified the importance of building and growing a team of trusted people with an established working relationship; keeping costs tight using CROs and collaborations but keeping critical data generation in-house; growing the team when key skills cannot be covered by CROs; and keeping options open and maintaining discussions with external parties.
Pitching competition winner
Selected from a record number of submissions, the 12 finalists delivered eight-minute pitches to a virtual judging panel at the BioCap Digital Pitching Competition on 23rd September.
The shortlisted companies who took part were: Brain Feed Therapeutics, Galytx, Immunokey, LightOx, MetalloBio, MiDx, Molecular Titans, NunaBio, Quodria, Respiosa, Serenatis Bio and SolasCure.
After a lot of deliberation, the judges then decided on a top three: Respiosa, Serenatis Bio and SolasCure, with a commendation for LightOx and Immunokey.
The overall winner was Serenatis Bio, with the award being presented to CEO and Co-founder Nick Sireau by Pharmora CMO, Stephanie Jones. Congratulations!
All 12 of the shortlisted pitches can be viewed here.
Geoff Davison, CEO of Bionow, commented: “It’s always inspiring to see companies and investors coming together to connect and make the most of the networking opportunities available. The day was full of valuable discussions, fresh insights, and meaningful collaboration, which is an essential part of driving the industry forward.
A huge congratulations to Serenatis Bio, winner of the BioCap Pitching Competition, with their compelling pitch delivered by Nick Sireau. Special recognition also goes to Respiosa and SolasCure, who also impressed in what was an exceptionally close contest!”
BioCap 2025 is sponsored by Mills & Reeve, Appleyard Lees, STFC, RSM UK, Bruntwood SciTech, Kadans Science Partner, Pharmora and Withers & Rogers.
On the day, the sessions covered a range of topics, with insights from two life sciences investment outlook panel sessions, company journeys, investor insights, what makes a company scalable, reverse pitching, grants and mixed funding, and of course, the announcement of the three pitching competition finalists and the overall winner.
Investor insights were shared by sector experts Tim Davis, the Regional Head of UK Primary Markets at the London Stock Exchange; Pioneer Group’s Lead Investment Director, Imelda Juniarsih; and Tanya Moore, Investment Principal (Ventures) at Cancer Research Horizons.
Providing an Investment Overview from a UK perspective and how the UK is positioned globally, Tim Davis commented on the current state of the UK’s Healthcare Capital Raising, with £5.1bn of total capital raised and 32 deals made by healthcare companies in London in 2025 so far. However, only 15 UK healthcare companies have had an initial public offering (IPO) in the US since 2015, which is where the Capital Markets Industry Taskforce has been installed to ensure the UK is the place where great companies can start, grow, scale and stay and ensure UK investors have access to the assets that provide returns and support the real economy in which they live and work.
The Taskforce’s four main priorities include unleashing the power of UK retail investors with a recommended increase in accessibility of information for UK investors; creating a UK advantage by incentivising investment in the UK capital markets and providing access to scale-up funding; restoring the UK’s risk appetite by establishing a ‘risk on’ culture, given the confidence in the UK’s strict and prudent regulations; and the “green opportunity”, with an estimated £35 - £50bn annual investment to achieve Net Zero by 2030, backed by policy certainty.
Examining new frontiers in life science innovation, Imelda Juniarsih opened with the statistic that startups formed in the period 2005 - 2009 raised a total of £372m in those years, while companies formed in 2020 - 2024 raised just under £3bn; eight times as much. The top sectors in terms of number of new companies were identified as Pharmaceuticals (261 startups), Biotechnology (251 startups), and Biotech and AI dynamics, with over half of biotech and AI firms founded since 2020. However, there is a high turnover as many fail within five years or get acquired if they are successful.
It was also revealed that between 2020 and 2024, companies in the Northwest region raised an average of £8.91m versus £7.26m in London, thanks in part to clusters such as Alderley
Park and Manchester’s innovation district supporting the growth of firms raising significant follow-on capital, as well as the concentration of later-stage companies attracting larger individual funding rounds.
Recent high-growth sectors include synthetic biology with more than 277% growth compared to the previous period (2018-2022) and nanotechnology with 93% growth. The top grant-funded sector is biotechnology with £78.4m of investment, followed by pharmaceuticals at £71.1m and clinical research at £66.2m. This represents a big shift from the previous period, when biotech ranked only fourth. This also reflects public capital shifting toward transformative, scalable technologies and away from established areas.
The presentation concluded with some statistics from Pioneer Group’s own funding rounds, with more than 300 entrepreneurs supported, over 180 companies funded, 38% of whose founders are female, and £441 million in total investment raised.
Tanya Moore wrapped up the investor insights with “Investing in a future with less cancer’; a look at how to push oncology drugs and treatments to market effectively.
Commenting on the current oncology funding landscape, the outlook was proving challenging, namely with global geopolitical uncertainty, especially in the USA; healthcare system challenges with an aging population; investors acting more conservatively and banding together for larger rounds; Series A expectations for financing into clinic impacting seed investors; a current lack of growth capital in the UK; and the China impact, with the number of funding deals and early ventures involving drug candidates from China continuing to climb. However, there is continued interest in radiopharmaceuticals and other novel ways to tackle hard-to-drug oncology targets, as well as in neurology and immunology.
The presentation went on to give key insights into what investors want to see in a compelling proposition, including a strong differentiated, competitive position and clinical unmet need along with strong IP positions; a streamlined plan focused on critical path work and a plan for delivering successful value-creating partnerships; and a talented team and evidence of delivering tangible progress.
Tanya concluded with some tips to companies looking to secure funding, which from an investor’s point of view should include a compelling investor deck; an in-depth understanding of the competitor landscape; building investor relations early using your network and maximising advisor and KOL networks; and pursuing non-dilutive funding routes where this adds value.
Sharing two company journeys with RSM UK Co-Head of Life Sciences, Graham Bond, Eddy Littler spoke about his time as CEO and COO of ReViral as well as his newer role as Chairman of MetalloBio.
His key takeaways for other C-suite executives, and echoing investor sentiment, identified the importance of building and growing a team of trusted people with an established working relationship; keeping costs tight using CROs and collaborations but keeping critical data generation in-house; growing the team when key skills cannot be covered by CROs; and keeping options open and maintaining discussions with external parties.
Pitching competition winner
Selected from a record number of submissions, the 12 finalists delivered eight-minute pitches to a virtual judging panel at the BioCap Digital Pitching Competition on 23rd September.
The shortlisted companies who took part were: Brain Feed Therapeutics, Galytx, Immunokey, LightOx, MetalloBio, MiDx, Molecular Titans, NunaBio, Quodria, Respiosa, Serenatis Bio and SolasCure.
After a lot of deliberation, the judges then decided on a top three: Respiosa, Serenatis Bio and SolasCure, with a commendation for LightOx and Immunokey.
The overall winner was Serenatis Bio, with the award being presented to CEO and Co-founder Nick Sireau by Pharmora CMO, Stephanie Jones. Congratulations!
All 12 of the shortlisted pitches can be viewed here.
Geoff Davison, CEO of Bionow, commented: “It’s always inspiring to see companies and investors coming together to connect and make the most of the networking opportunities available. The day was full of valuable discussions, fresh insights, and meaningful collaboration, which is an essential part of driving the industry forward.
A huge congratulations to Serenatis Bio, winner of the BioCap Pitching Competition, with their compelling pitch delivered by Nick Sireau. Special recognition also goes to Respiosa and SolasCure, who also impressed in what was an exceptionally close contest!”
BioCap 2025 is sponsored by Mills & Reeve, Appleyard Lees, STFC, RSM UK, Bruntwood SciTech, Kadans Science Partner, Pharmora and Withers & Rogers.
