Anglonordic Life Science 2026: A focus on execution
The latest Anglonordic Life Science Conference took place on Thursday 23rd April at County Hall on London’s South Bank, following a reception the previous evening at the Swedish Ambassador’s official residence.
Now going for more than two decades – this was the 22nd conference – the event is known for being big enough to attract a wide array of early-stage life sciences companies and big-name investors, but small enough to retain an intimate atmosphere that encourages informal conversations.
With the sun shining strongly on the day, but a chilly breeze still blowing, what was sentiment like at the conference and what were the major themes dominating panels and conversations?
Cautious optimism and structural challenges
After what seems like a never ending biotech financing winter (and the heady days of 2021 are, after all, now a full five years ago), late 2025 and early 2026 experienced something of a spring. But events in the Middle East appear to have shaken confidence a little, with Anglonordic attendees reverting to describing sentiment as “cautiously optimistic” or even downright “cautious”.
Hakan Goker, MD of M Ventures, the strategic corporate venture capital arm of Merck KGaA, which has supported Anglonordic from the start, said: “There is cautious optimism and many early-stage companies are still getting financed.”
More “patient capital” firms were now involved in investment syndicates than in previous years, he added, which “potentially reflects various pressures on institutional venture capital”.
Maina Bhaman, partner at leading European life sciences venture capital firm, Sofinnova Partners, said early-stage firms faced “structural challenges” including “smaller funds, harder syndication, LP (limited partner) pressure for liquidity,” and increased demands for strong science and capital efficiency – all the while being asked to accept “lower valuations”.
However, she urged the industry to take the long view, citing a statistic aired on one of the day’s panels that, while it took 24 years to raise the first $600 billion in global biopharma equity, it had taken “only eight for the next $600 billion”.
This undoubted acceleration “reframes current market challenges as cyclical, rather than structural, suggesting significant capital capacity remains”, she argued.
Tom Page, partner and corporate finance specialist at Stephenson Harwood LLP, one of the sponsors of this year’s event, remarked: “The wider funding environment remains challenging.” Nonetheless, “for early-stage companies with the right story, there are certainly opportunities for venture funding”, he said.
He concluded: “The trend for lower funding overall, but larger individual investments, looks set to continue, with the largest rounds continuing to be AI-driven.”
Goker’s colleague Oliver Hardick, investment director and entrepreneur in residence at M Ventures, put in: “The industry is getting better at financing companies through meaningful milestones, but we should be honest about the trade-off: bigger rounds and more concentrated capital may reduce financing risk, while also reducing the number of scientific experiments the ecosystem can run.”
This could narrow the space for innovation: “Some of the most important breakthroughs start out looking non-obvious, so maintaining diversity of capital, specialist investors, and early customer engagement is critical.”
Clinical trials and investment
Funding questions aside, their colleague Noga Yerushalmi, fellow investment director and head of M Ventures’ Israel Bioincubator, highlighted “how to better prepare for clinical trials” as “one of the most widely discussed topics” at this year’s Anglonordic conference.
“With so much change in this field, from evolving regulatory requirements and advances in preclinical models, to the integration of AI-based predictive tools for trial design and patient stratification, this field is undeniably feeling the winds of change”, she said.
So much for those with the cash and advising on deals. What about those at the sharp end – the biotechs and life sciences companies who need capital to continue? How did their conversations go at Anglonordic, how do they view the investment climate, and what are investors now after?
Søren Sheikh, CEO of Blue Cell Therapeutics, which is developing an allogeneic, ‘off-the-shelf’ stem cell therapy for erectile dysfunction and pulmonary arterial hypertension, said sentiment was “very mixed” and depended on what exactly biotechs were developing.
With that in mind, Sheikh said “there is no doubt that the game for these companies is to meet VCs that can see their perspective and are willing to take a risk – which is still a problem, because the market is only starting to thaw”.
The ability to meet investors in a conducive environment was a major reason that he, and other biotech execs, said they attended Anglonordic.
Sheikh said: “While it features many interesting participants, it’s still a smaller venue where it’s possible to meet people in a more manageable environment than in the larger congresses. Because of the cozy environment, it feels like people are more open and interested in speaking with those they may not know so well.”
That point was echoed by Jerry McMahon, CEO and president of STORM Therapeutics, which has developed a suite of RNA modifiers for diseases including the soft tissue cancer sarcoma. He said Anglonordic provided “a focused forum to engage with relevant investors and partners at a pivotal stage in our growth”.
McMahon hit upon perhaps the key theme of the conference, which attendees mentioned time and again: that investors are now more exacting than in the past.
“Investor discussions were centred on clinically validated science and clear paths to value creation,” he said, adding: “Investors are increasingly prioritising programmes with demonstrated clinical traction, reinforcing the importance of advancing assets into and through the clinic.”
Dr Josep Prous, co-founder and CSO of Barcelona-based CONNECTA Therapeutics, which has its lead asset CTH120 in clinical trials for the neurodevelopmental disorder Fragile X syndrome, said investors voiced “the increasing need for actionable data, highlighting disciplined business development and clear value inflection points”.
He continued: “This reflects a broader shift toward more selective, data-driven investments, focused on differentiated assets with strong clinical evidence.”
Thomas Kledal, CEO of Synklino, developing a first-in-class, ex-vivo therapy to transform kidney transplantation outcomes through better CMV prevention, said: “Despite macroeconomic uncertainty, there is clear momentum for companies with differentiated science and well-defined development commercial strategies [...] Strong, well-articulated stories cut through – investors expect companies to be prepared and proactive.”
Magnus Ivarsson, CSO of UK-based AstronauTx, which is developing drugs to treat neurological disorders, including dementia, by improving sleep architecture, said: “While funding remains selective, there was a clear sense that high quality science with strong translational rationale attracts interest.”
Investors were demanding not only scientific quality, but also “speed to value inflection and disciplined execution”, he said.
Adapting to the new normal
Chris Floyd, head of neuroscience at tranScrip, a boutique drug development consultancy, delivering expert clinical, medical, and regulatory solutions to help transform science into valuable medicines, which also sponsored Anglonordic 2026, said: “The most valuable insight from the conference was how consistently investors and partners emphasised execution quality, not just scientific novelty. A compelling asset is no longer enough; companies need robust evidence strategies, regulatory foresight, and a clear path to decision-making milestones.”
Dr Anthony Johnson, CEO and chairman of Dundee-based Outrun Therapeutics, which is using E3 ligase inhibition to unlock the therapeutic potential of protein stabilisation, said: “The market for early-stage European life sciences firms remains challenging – but is this the new normal? We are unlikely to return to the ‘halcyon days’ of 2021 any time soon.”
Therefore, it was now “critical” for biotechs to network effectively with investors and service providers to gain “the necessary support to advance their company portfolios,” he said.
Dr Dirk Beher, CEO of FundaMental Pharma, which is developing novel dual-acting NMDA receptor modulators for treatment-resistant depression, said: “Unfortunately, the tide has not yet turned regarding the funding squeeze on seed and early-stage firms […] Consequently, investors are concentrating on clinical-stage opportunities that align with pharma’s current deal sweet spot.”
He also warned about “the substantial competition with China on clinical stage assets, especially when looking at validated drug targets.” Biotechs “need to start thinking about this for earlier-stage programmes”, he said.
To sum up: Anglonordic 2026 showed early-stage life sciences firms are still having to work hard for investment cash, but they can improve their chances by focusing hard on execution, and building relationships with potential investors and partners.
About the author
Stephen Adams has been an associate director at Optimum Strategic Communications, a specialist life science communications agency, for two years. Prior to that he was a health journalist, spending six years at The Daily Telegraph and then a decade at The Mail on Sunday.
