City’s biotechs star in KPMG’s East of England study

mike.scialom@iliffemedia.co.uk

Published: 18:17, 23 April 2025

Standout raises from Cambridge-based biotechnology companies Maxion Therapeutics (£55.5million) and TRIMTECH Therapeutics (£25m) were the highlights in 2025’s opening quarter for the East of England, a new KPMG study reports.

The new data reveals that a shift towards larger investments helped the UK to keep its title of number one in Europe.

Joe Faulkner from KPMG in their FORA office at 20 Station Road. Picture: Keith Heppell

Having raised £480m in the final quarter of 2024, business in the East of England received £680m from VC investors in the first three months of this year – a 41 per cent increase, according to the latest KPMG Private Enterprise Venture Pulse report. The study showed that the UK continues to come out on top across the EU with a total of £4.1bn raised across 507 deals during the first quarter of 2025.

The East of England saw 39 investments concluded, says the accounting firm whose Cambridge base is at FORA. Deals were driven mostly by the region’s information technology and healthcare sectors, which saw 15 and 14 deals respectively, making up 74 per cent of total deals.

#21 to Watch 2025, TRIMTECH Therapeutics – neurodegenerative diseases, which include Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s, are caused by protein aggregation inside cells. TRIMTECH’s unique technology targets and degrades aggregated proteins, without affecting non-aggregated forms, offering a solution that is both potent and offers outstanding safety. Picture: Keith Heppell

Joe Faulkner, East Anglia senior partner at KPMG UK, said: “It’s promising to see a notable rise in VC investment across the East of England over the last three months, reflecting strong investor appetite for the region’s innovation-led sectors. Deal values rose significantly for life sciences and biotechnology, further cementing the East’s world-class influence in biotech and health innovation.

“This momentum speaks to the depth of talent and commercial potential in the East of England, which is increasingly seen as a strategic hub for high-growth businesses.”

The UK remain number one in Europe for venture capital (VC) investors despite a fall in both overall investment and number of deals, according to new figures.

This was also partly driven by strong investment in the health and biotech sector during Q1 2025, including UK-based Verdiva Bio securing £309m and Cera £113m.

Dr Arndt Schottelius, CEO at Maxion Therapeutics. Picture: Keith Heppell

However, overall, the quarter recorded a fall when compared to Q4 2024 in both the overall level of investment (from £4.4bn to £4.1bn) and total volume of UK VC deals (from 569 to 507) - driven by investor confidence currently being aligned with more established, proven start-ups given uncertain market conditions and ongoing lack of exits.

Nicole Lowe, UK head of KPMG’s Emerging Giants practice, said: “In a financial climate that is currently fluctuating on a daily basis following the recent activation of tariffs across the globe, investors are backing companies that offer the fastest path to profitability.

“This has made it challenging for UK startups in IP rich areas as these are longer term investment areas, which, while not favourable at this moment, could actually provide excellent opportunities in the coming weeks, months and years.

“This switch could indicate we are at risk of missing out on important investment in these sectors, which are key to driving long-term economic growth and supporting our future workforce, and therefore should ensure we all be doing as much as we can to make these investments as attractive as possible.”

Business Mike Scialom