Invest in biotech

UK biotech was outperforming the broader market before COVID-19 hit, since then its relative performance has been stronger still and there have been many new investors entering the sector on the London Stock Exchange.

Are you an investor looking to understand the biotech sector?

Are you keen to support revolutionary advances in human, animal and environmental health?

Opportunity on your doorstep: A guide to investing in the UK biotech sector has been created to help investors gain a better understanding of the innovative life sciences and biotech sector in the UK, including its diverse business models, the R&D process and the risks and benefits. 

Whether you are a large institutional investor or an individual planning for your retirement, this guide can help demystify biotechnology for non-specialist investors and provide practical guidance on how to invest in the biotech sector.

The importance of the biotech industry has never been clearer, especially post-COVID-19 pandemic. The biotech sector will continue to feature prominently as the source of medical innovation to maintain and improve health, and to protect us from future pandemics.

Opportunity on your doorstep: A guide to investing in the UK biotech sector

Opportunity on your doorstep: A guide to investing in the UK biotech sector

We’ve written this guide to help those who see the value and potential of biotech, and the UK sector in particular. It has two aims: the first is to help demystify biotechnology for non-specialist investors; the second is to provide practical guidance on how to invest in the sector, and thereby participate in the next exciting and revolutionary advances in human, animal and environmental health. Now is a great time to take a deeper look at the opportunity. We hope you find this guide helpful.

Read the guide


This 30-year-old sector now includes mature, revenue-generating companies, as well as innovative start-ups building new technologies, and new business models. The long-term returns (10 years) of biotech have outperformed other sectors, including pharmaceuticals and tech, in both venture capital and public markets.

Key trends which will support the sector in the future are: 

  • The UK biotech sector holds many of the solutions to today’s most urgent global challenges, from fighting pandemics and climate change to building sustainable energy and food sources.
  • The sector enjoys strong government support in many countries and with record levels of private and public investment poured into biotech over the last decade, the sector’s position as a key strategic sector is only set to continue after the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Large, multinational pharmaceutical firms that distribute most medicines across the globe are developing fewer new drugs in-house. This is making them eager investors in biotech assets, which account for a growing majority of the overall drug development pipeline.
Sector experts share their thoughts on why invest in biotech?

Click on the image to see what they say.