LSX World Congress Recap: Biotech and Pharma Keynote Panel

On April 29 and 30, the 10th LSX World Congress was hosted in London. This conference brings together the founders and CEOs of innovative start-ups through to health care giants, and everyone in between. Each year it represents the breadth and depth of cutting-edge research and technology driving advances in life sciences. Thought leaders in the space share ideas to help create the world's future medicines and improve patient outcomes.

It was a pleasure to moderate the keynote biotech and pharma panel and discuss the current landscape in the U.K. and EU, together with representatives from Eli Lilly, BioNTech, SV Health Investors, Wellington Partners and Abingworth.

Some key themes from our lively discussion include:

• The European Commission identified biotechnology as a critical technology for economic security in the commission recommendation that came out in October 2023. 
• U.K. biotechs secured £1.8 billion in equity financings in 2023, down only 9% from 2022.
• The collective share price of London-quoted U.K. biotechs is up approximately 250% compared to pre-pandemic levels, showing the sector delivers long-term returns for investors.
• COVID-19 was an interesting turning point for this sector, as the experience has in a way served as a catalyst for advancement in certain areas, in particular the cancer vaccine development. It was announced just last week that the world's first personalized cancer vaccine for melanoma is being tested in the U.K. on British patients. It works as an individualized neoantigen therapy and can trigger the immune system to fight the patient's specific type of cancer. It's a real game-changer in immunotherapy.
• In the U.K. there is the political will for advancement in science. Earlier this year former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair and former Conservative Party leader William Hague produced their third report of recommendations to help the U.K. stay at the forefront of growth in biotechnology and artificial intelligence. 
• The U.K. has the largest pension market in Europe, worth over £2.5 trillion. There is an opportunity here to boost outcomes for pension savers and increase the availability of funding for high-growth companies. We discussed the possibility of having pension funds invest in higher-risk life sciences companies. 
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) has completely shifted the paradigm in the biotech industry. The past year has seen a gold rush in AI applications for the biopharma sector, for drug and protein discovery, or even treatment repurposing. We discussed the increasing importance of applying machine learning tools in trial design and analysis.
• Nondilutive funding is proving popular in this current market, in particular licenses and collaborations as an alternative source of financing for biotechs.

For further information please reach out to any member of the Brown Rudnick Life Sciences team.