London has cemented its position as Europe’s powerhouse for life sciences, attracting $2.1 billion in venture capital (VC) investment so far in 2025. This is more than 1.6 times the amount raised in 2024 ($1.3 billion) and over triple the amount raised by Paris ($679 million) this year.
The *data, released ahead of the major life sciences and biotech gathering London Life Sciences Week, shows that London-based life sciences companies have raised more than those in Paris ($679 million), Stockholm ($499 million), and Berlin ($399 million) combined. On the global stage, London stands as the top city outside the US, attracting more investment so far in 2025 than Shanghai ($880 million), Tokyo ($308 million), and Singapore ($325 million) combined.
*Dealroom’s data has been analysed by London & Partners, the growth agency for the UK capital, which is one of the organisers of London Life Sciences Week - a week-long gathering in the UK capital, bringing together leading life sciences and biotech companies, investors, and entrepreneurs from around the world to shape the future of life sciences. London Life Sciences Week has received £500k from the Mayor of London and UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Life Sciences: A Major Contributor to the UK Economy
The UK’s life sciences sector contributed around $43 billion in Gross Value Added to the economy in 2021 (PwC). London's life sciences companies are a key driver of sector growth in the UK, generating over £34 billion in turnover in 2023/2024 (Office for Life Sciences), second only to the neighbouring South East (£39.4 billion).
London is home to over 2,700 life sciences companies, three of the world’s top 15 universities for health and clinical science, and 19 of the top 20 global pharmaceutical companies (MedCity), which form an ecosystem of innovation and intellectual property generation that drives commercial growth.
The UK is home to four of the world’s top ten universities (QS World University Rankings 2026) and life sciences are central to the government’s economic renewal and mission to build a fairer, healthier UK. In September 2025, the government launched a £50 million fund to boost research and development investment across the country (GOV.UK).
Artificial Intelligence Is Fuelling the Boom
This surge in investment is powered by innovation in Artificial Intelligence (AI). Companies leveraging AI have secured more than half ($1.1 billion) of the investment raised in life sciences so far in 2025, marking a 97% increase over last year ($558 million). Big tech firms like Microsoft, NVIDIA, Google, and OpenAI have announced multi-billion-dollar investments in the UK and 2025's trend supports growing confidence in London's ability to deploy AI to scientific discovery and therapeutic development.
From the Francis Crick Institute and the Alan Turing Institute to global tech giants like Google, London is leveraging its strengths in research and technology. The city leads the way in using AI to transform life sciences and biotechnology, accelerating drug discovery, advancing precision medicine, and improving diagnostics and patient outcomes.
Science and Technology Secretary, Liz Kendall, said: “Our life sciences sector is critical to the UK growth, jobs, and skills that will drive national renewal. When this industry succeeds, it gives rise to new products to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease – saving lives and creating jobs across the UK.
"I am delighted to see people's confidence in our life sciences innovators, backed by billions of pounds flowing into the UK. But we are determined to go even further. Through our Life Sciences Sector Plan, we are moving in lockstep with industry, academia, and the NHS to attract even more investment and deliver breakthroughs that will make the UK healthier, wealthier, and even more open for business.”
Few cities can rival London’s legacy of scientific discovery. It is the city where cells were first identified, penicillin was discovered, and the first in human gene editing was carried out. Today, London is home to seven growing life sciences districts and clusters, including the ‘Knowledge Quarter’ - a one-mile radius around King’s Cross Station that brings together over 100 cultural, research, scientific, business, and academic institutions.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “London Life Sciences Week provides a unique opportunity to bring together industry leaders, innovators, and investors, forging valuable partnerships and shaping the future of life sciences across the capital.
“London has already cemented its position as Europe’s powerhouse for life sciences, attracting over £1.6 billion in venture capital investment so far this year - more than Paris, Stockholm, and Berlin combined.
“Our city is home to over 2,700 life sciences companies and 19 of the top 20 global pharmaceutical companies. There is no doubt London is a front runner to become the new world capital of life sciences and innovation globally as we work together to build a better, more prosperous city for everyone.”
London Life Sciences Week: A Global Gathering
London Life Sciences Week, anchored by the Jefferies Banking Healthcare Conference, is expected to draw over a thousand investors to more than 70 events across the city. These events provide a unique opportunity for investors to engage with London’s most promising life sciences companies and gain insights into the city’s innovation ecosystem.
Attendees can connect directly with companies through partneringONE, a free networking platform launched in collaboration with LSX/Informa. International and UK funds will also have the opportunity to explore the benefits of the UK’s investment landscape at the International Investor Summit (a closed-door event).
Jane Wall, Managing Director at the UK BioIndustry Association (BIA), co-organisers of London Life Sciences Week, said: “London Life Sciences Week provides an exceptional platform for international investors, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders to connect, collaborate, and forge global partnerships. Alongside the Jefferies Healthcare conference, the International Investor Summit at Victoria House, and over 70 events taking place across the week, it underscores the UK’s position as a world-leading destination for life sciences investment.”
Celebrating Sector Success Stories
A highlight of the week, the ‘Bench to Business London Showcase’ will spotlight university spinouts and early-stage startups as they pitch to a global audience of investors. Taking place at the London Life Sciences Pavilion, 180 Studios, on Wednesday, 19 November.
Dr. Angela Kukula, CEO of MedCity at London & Partners, co-organisers of London Life Sciences Week, said: “Investors attending the ‘Bench to Business London Showcase’ will hear from a range of exceptional companies from all branches of life sciences, some of which are also featured in MedCity’s ‘London Companies to Watch 2025’.”
Dr. Anne Lane, CEO of UCL Business, the commercialisation company for UCL, said: “London is fizzing with life science innovation, from AI-powered diagnostics to gene therapy and breakthrough cell treatments.
“It's a life science powerhouse because we have world-class research, leading hospitals, cutting-edge laboratories, specialist investors, and global industry side-by-side in a diverse and vibrant city. The impact ripples across the nation, creating jobs and saving lives.
"But the magic happens when we bring everyone together, and that's what we are doing at London Life Science Week. In the last five years, companies formed from UCL research have raised billions and created thousands of jobs; and I look forward to introducing the next generation of exciting spinouts at the showcase."
Christina Coughlin, CEO of Avacta Therapeutics, a UK-based biotech company focused on making cancer treatment safer and more effective, said: “London has provided an outstanding base for Avacta to advance our mission to redefine cancer treatment through our proprietary pre|CISION® platform. Developing our peptide drug conjugate (PDC) technology in White City has allowed us to harness the city’s world-class scientific talent, translational research infrastructure, and access to leading oncology expertise.
“The pre|CISION® platform enables us to repurpose potent oncology drugs as PDC payloads that remain inactive in the bloodstream and healthy tissue, but are precisely activated within the tumor. This approach has the potential to significantly reduce toxicity and side effects for patients, and London’s vibrant life sciences ecosystem has been instrumental in accelerating this innovation from concept to the clinic.”
Dr. Najat Khan, incoming CEO and current Chief R&D Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Recursion, a leading techbio company with multiple AI-enabled drugs for cancer and rare disease in clinical trials, said that London is fast becoming a global centre of techbio innovation: “London has an incredible concentration of talented people at the intersection of life sciences and technology – the ‘bilingual’ workforce we need to drive the next breakthrough foundation models and design the next first-in-class drugs for difficult-to-treat diseases.”
Professor Graham Lord, SC1 London Co-Chair and Executive Director of King’s Health Partners, said: “London Life Sciences Week is ensuring our capitals place at the forefront of world-class health, sciences, and innovation. Investment at this scale presents huge opportunities for innovation and our future collective health and wealth.
“Our top priority at SC1 London is that London’s people, places, and partnerships are health and life sciences winners. We’re proud to be working with London & Partners, government, and across sectors to support a shared vision of London as leader in driving economic growth and improving our health.”
For more on London Life Sciences Week, visit: lifesciencesweek.london.
Notes to Editors
About London Life Sciences Week:
Launched by the BioIndustry Association (BIA), MedCity, and London & Partners, London Life Sciences Week takes place from 16 to 21 November 2025. It is a premier gathering of global investors and leaders from pharma and UK biotech companies, offering a dynamic week of networking and dealmaking.
Taking place at the same time as the Jefferies Global Healthcare Conference, London Life Sciences Week offers a unique opportunity to connect with over 1,300 senior decision-makers from leading life sciences companies and international investment firms. The programme includes more than 70 satellite events across Covent Garden, Aldwych, and Holborn, as well as a free networking app powered by partneringONE: https://lifesciencesweek.london/app.html.
Attendees are invited to explore the new London Life Sciences Week Pavilion at 180 Studios on The Strand. From Monday to Wednesday, talks and networking sessions will foster new connections and highlight the latest developments in the field. BIA members will have exclusive access to the Members’ Lounge at Victoria House from Monday to Friday, 17 to 21 November, 9 am to 5 pm.
London Life Sciences Week is hosted in association with Barclays (Diamond Supporter), LifeArc and Lilly (Gold Supporters), Browne Jacobson and Osborne Clarke (Silver Supporters), Boyds (Bronze Supporter), and Canary Wharf Group and Kadans (Drinks Reception Supporters).
For more information, visit lifesciencesweek.london.
Agenda Highlights:
All taking place at: 180 Studios - 180 Surrey Street, London, WC2R 1EA.
Nearest stations: Temple (5-minute walk), Covent Garden (11-minute walk), Charing Cross (12-minute walk).
Monday, 17 November
The Future of Life Sciences - 9:15 am to 12:20 pm
- Featuring high profile speakers such as Patrick Vallance (Minister of State for Science, Research, Innovation and Nuclear), this event will explore emerging trends, technologies, and strategic priorities shaping the future of life sciences: Registration link
The Future of Life Sciences - 1:45 pm to 3:45 pm
- This will bring together regional and international clusters to focus on the importance of places in driving life sciences collaboration: Registration link
Tuesday, 18 November
The Future of Health - 9:20 am to 12:30 pm
- This event features NHS representatives and various VIP speakers who will explore the UK’s strategic priorities for health innovation, adoption, and scaling: Registration link
Five Years of CRISPR in Real Life - 1:30 pm to 3 pm
- Join Richmond Pharmacology as they reflect on five years since the first CRISPR treatment and look at the future of gene editing: Registration link
Wednesday, 19 November
Bench to Business London Showcase - 9:30 am to 5 pm
- Hear pitches and panel discussions from 40+ exceptional companies spanning spin out to series C. These companies represent prime opportunities for investment and are drawn from MedCity’s ‘London Companies to Watch 2025’ brochure and from London’s top Higher Education Institutions: Registration link
About companies/organisations:
MedCity, part of London & Partners
MedCity is the cluster organisation for the world-leading health and life sciences sector in London. Founded in 2014 by the Mayor of London in partnership with the city’s Academic Health Science Centres, MedCity fosters international collaborations between biotech, MedTech, and pharma companies, as well as the capital’s world-leading life sciences ecosystem to supercharge innovation, drive inward investment, and build skills and talent across the sector in the UK. In 2023, MedCity became a part of London & Partners, the growth agency for London.
MedCity will publish its ‘London Companies to Watch 2025’ brochure during London Life Sciences Week, featuring over 50 exceptional companies and success stories of those who have grown from London and expanded across the UK. Find out more at www.medcity.london.
UK BioIndustry Association (BIA)
The BioIndustry Association is the voice of the innovative life sciences and biotech industry, enabling and connecting the UK ecosystem so that businesses can start, grow, and deliver world-changing innovation. Established in 1989, BIA is the award-winning trade association with over 600 members, including start-ups, biotechnology and innovative life science companies, pharma, universities, research centres, tech transfer offices, incubators and accelerators, and a wide range of life sciences service providers. Helping the biotech and life sciences sector to influence, connect, and save. Find out more at www.bioindustry.org.
Dealroom
Dealroom.co is the global intelligence platform for discovering and tracking the most promising companies, technologies, and startup ecosystems. Dealroom is a trusted source of innovation data and predictive analytics, used by leading venture capitalists, corporates, and governments, to discover the world’s most promising companies.
London & Partners analysed Dealroom data in October 2025, using information available up to the end of that month. The analysis is based on Dealroom’s health industry classification.