Optimum’s hot topic: Investors look ahead to ’25 at London Life Sciences Week

By Richard Staines

London Life Sciences Week has become a major fixture on the biotech calendar with two conferences – the LSX Inve$tival and the Jefferies London Healthcare Conference – plus the LSX Lifestars Awards all falling within one working week. 

This year’s Jefferies event expanded from its traditional home at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel on Aldwych, to include the neighbouring ME Hotel to cater for the growing delegate list. 

After a slow 2023, investment returned to the life sciences industry in 2024 and in the UK, the £1.4 billion in VC funding raised so far has already surpassed the £1.2 billion total figure for 2023. 

There has also been a global resurgence in biotech investment, which has ticked upwards despite the challenges that emerged during the year. 

So, what should we expect in 2025? There are some worries, not least the impact of the ongoing war in Ukraine, and the policies of the incoming Trump administration in the U.S., but it is not enough to dampen the overall optimistic outlook at last week’s conferences and fringe events.  

In an online Q&A, Tommy Erdei, Jefferies Global Joint Head of Healthcare Investment Banking, predicted an increase in private equity investment in the sector in 2025. 

However, private equity investment remains below what is expected, creating an opportunity for corporate M&A activity. 

Investors remain keen on injectable drugs and there is continued interest in GLP-1 drugs from both innovator companies and generics firms. 

Investment in R&D is driving growth in the biotech sector, according to Erdei, although there are worries about the impact on investment confidence following elections in the UK and the U.S. 

The consensus, for now, seems to be that there is still pent-up demand that will drive investment activity in 2025, be it in the form of IPOs, investment deals, or M&A.