The ninth annual Life Sciences Competitiveness Indicators (LSCIs) published by UK’s government shows a substantial decline in the estimated value of inward life sciences foreign direct investment in UK in 2022 compared to 2021 (£1 billion vs £1.9 billion, -47%). The country also dropped to the ninth place in the ranking of comparators, from the second in 2021. On the over hand, India, Switzerland and Ireland are among the countries that saw a substantial increases over the same period.
The overall value of equity finance raised in 2022 also decreased to £3.3 billion (£7.2 billion in 2021). The same dynamic characterised the number of initial public offerings (IPOs) and associated amount raised. In 2022, the UK had £7.1 million raised through 3 IPOs compared to £751.5 million over 11 IPOs in 2021. In this case, similar patters have been observed also for comparator countries due to the impact of the pandemic and broader economic factors.
Source: UK government, Life sciences competitiveness indicators 2023