UK biotech venture capital reached £2.84 billion in the first nine months of 2026. That is more than in any full year from 2022 to 2025. The figures come from the BioIndustry Association (BIA) Q3 2026 financing report, published on 26 October 2026 [1].
The BIA puts 2021, its record year, at £3 billion, so 2026 is close [2]. Yet the total rests on a handful of very large rounds. Beneath them, seed funding fell to its lowest level of the year [1].
How much venture capital did UK biotech raise in Q3 2026?
UK biotech companies raised £270 million in venture capital in the third quarter. That is 44% more than the £187 million raised in Q3 2025 [1]. It also beat Q3 2022 (£240 million). It fell short of the same quarters in 2023 (£486 million) and 2024 (£659 million).
The year-on-year rise outpaced the US, where biotech venture investment grew 13%. Venture investment in the rest of Europe dipped slightly [1].
Total equity raised, including public market deals, came to £421 million. That compares with £198 million a year earlier, a rise of 113% [1].
The quarter was far smaller than Q2, when venture investment reached £2.05 billion. Isomorphic Labs’ £1.6 billion Series B made up most of that quarter [1].
The biotech gain stands out against the wider UK venture market. Across all sectors, UK venture investment was $6.1 billion in Q3 2026. A year earlier it was $9.3 billion. The BIA cites Dealroom.co and HSBC Innovation Banking for those figures [2].
Megadeals carry the 2026 UK biotech venture capital total
Rounds above £100 million account for about 70% of the capital raised so far this year. Isomorphic alone accounts for around 55%. Full year venture investment in 2025 was £1.79 billion [1]. CellCentric’s £163 million round, also in Q2, added to the total [2].
Strip out Isomorphic and cumulative UK biotech venture capital reaches £1.28 billion. The BIA notes some broadening below the megadeals. Two size brackets have already passed their 2025 totals: £10 million to £25 million, and £25 million to £50 million [1]. The number of rounds between £10 million and £25 million has more than doubled against the whole of 2025.
The five largest UK biotech rounds in Q3 2026
Concentration was high in Q3 as well. The five largest deals raised £239 million, about 89% of the quarter’s total [1]. Series B and later rounds raised £187 million across three deals, about 69% of the total.
| Company | Round | Amount | Date (BIA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basecamp Research | Series C | £104 million | 23 September 2026 |
| Draig Therapeutics | Series B | £49 million | 14 July 2026 |
| Mironid | Series B | £34 million | 5 August 2026 |
| Redx Pharma | Series A | £27 million | 29 August 2026 |
| Alchemab Therapeutics | Series A | £25 million | 9 July 2026 |
Source: BIA UK biotech financing 2026 Q3 [1].
Basecamp Research’s Series C equalled 39% of the quarter’s venture investment [1]. The company announced the round at $140 million, led by S32 [3]. Investors also included NVentures, NVIDIA’s venture arm, and Anthropic [3]. Basecamp plans to train new versions of its EDEN models. It also aims to move AI-designed therapeutics towards the clinic [1].
Draig Therapeutics raised £49 million to develop AMPA and GABAA receptor modulators for neuropsychiatric disorders [1].
Redx Pharma’s £27 million Series A is the first part of a £94 million ($125 million) financing. The rest closes in Q4 through a reverse merger with US-listed Skye Bioscience. The combined company will list on NASDAQ as Fibrx Therapeutics. Its headquarters will stay at Alderley Park in Cheshire [1]. The funding will take lead fibrosis candidate RXC008 into a phase 2 trial in fibrostenotic Crohn’s disease [1].
Seed and Series A rounds shrank in Q3
Early-stage UK biotech venture capital weakened. Seed investment fell to £12 million across four deals. That compares with £51 million across eight deals in Q2. In Q1 it was £42 million across ten deals [1]. The average seed round dropped to £2.9 million.
Series A raised £59 million across four deals, against £190 million across four deals in Q2 [1]. Deal numbers held steady, but the average round fell to £14.7 million. The BIA reads this as smaller rounds rather than fewer deals.
Eight of the quarter’s 19 deals were undisclosed, with a combined value of about £12 million [1].
The pattern echoes the wider market. Earlier this year, Biopharma VC Funding in H1 2026 showed money flowing to later-stage companies while seed rounds struggled.
UK keeps its top spot in Europe
European biotech venture capital totalled about £1.1 billion in Q3, down from £3.3 billion in Q2 [1]. UK biotech venture capital came to £270 million, around 26% of the European total. Switzerland followed with £190 million, then the Netherlands with £186 million.
Outside the UK, European venture investment fell 40.3%, from £1.3 billion to £781 million [1]. The largest European round was a Series B of about £113 million for Swiss company Vaderis Therapeutics.
In the US, biotech companies raised £5.2 billion in venture capital. That was 23% below the £6.8 billion raised in Q2 [1].
Public markets: one large deal and no IPOs
UK biotech follow-on financing reached £151 million in Q3, up from £11 million a year earlier [1]. Silence Therapeutics’ £130.3 million NASDAQ raise made up about 86% of it. Without Silence, follow-ons totalled just £20.7 million. Scancell’s £15.7 million was the largest AIM raise. Follow-ons for the year to date reached £245 million, against £96 million for the whole of 2025 [1].
On 19 October 2026, Silence agreed to be bought by Merck KGaA. The Silence Therapeutics acquisition is an all-cash deal worth about $1.3 billion. It is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027 [6].
The UK has now gone 17 consecutive quarters without a biotech IPO [1]. No European biotech IPO proceeds were recorded in Q3. US biotech IPOs raised £2.07 billion over the same period.
Q4 has started strongly
Two October rounds nearly match the whole of Q3, according to the BIA [1]. Oxford-based OMass Therapeutics raised a $310 million Series C. Bain Capital Life Sciences, Forbion and Novo Holdings co-led the round [4].
OMass will take its lead candidate, OMS1620, into phase 2 in congenital adrenal hyperplasia and ACTH-dependent Cushing’s syndrome [4]. Microbiotica announced a £36 million Series C, led by the British Business Bank [1].
The BIA puts the OMass round at £230 million. Whether 2026 passes 2021 depends on the Q4 figures, which the BIA has not yet published.
What the BIA wants from the Autumn Budget
The Autumn Budget will be delivered on Wednesday 28 October [5]. The BIA says many companies outside the megadeals still struggle to access finance. It adds that reliance on overseas capital is holding back growth [2]. It is urging the Government to:
- bring more allocated UKRI and Innovate UK funding forward into 2027 to 2028
- expand the British Business Bank’s budget for direct and fund-of-funds investments
- direct pension fund investment into venture capital or the British Business Bank, and develop new instruments with the sector that connect it with the City
- give founders and funders fiscal incentives to reinvest their proceeds
- protect R&D tax credits.
Chris Molloy, chief executive of the BIA, said UK science attracts expert global capital. But he warned that “too few British investors are taking part” [1]. He said this applies in both private and public markets.
He said the Government “has a vital role to play in getting the environment right” [1]. That includes “incentivising wealth creators to recycle their gains”.
What to watch
Three things will shape how 2026 ends for UK biotech venture capital. The first is Q4 data, and whether the year formally passes 2021. The second is whether the Budget acts on the British Business Bank, pensions and R&D tax credits. The third is whether the Redx reverse merger completes as planned.
