I was delighted to attend Northern Gritstone’s AGM & Investor Day 2025 – a celebration of another successful year supporting university spin-outs. With £362 million raised to date and a new partnership with the University of Liverpool on the horizon, the event showcased the growing momentum behind UK innovation.
Amidst the celebration, a clear message emerged: while life sciences remain a priority for investors, innovators will continue to face the dual challenge of developing complex, regulated products whilst navigating an increasingly risk-averse funding landscape.
So, how can innovators demonstrate a clear route to market for their product? Based on the key takeaways from this event, we dig a bit deeper into the current funding climate and suggest ways in which life science innovators can accelerate product development to unlock funding opportunities.
What has triggered recent shifts in investments?
It was promising to see that life sciences will remain a priority for UK-based venture capitalists. However, Northern Gritstone acknowledged that political and economic factors have resulted in capital becoming increasingly selective, affecting companies up and down the country seeking pre-seed through to Series A+ funding.
Many factors are at play: BIA reports that the UK invests less in life sciences relative to other sectors and foreign direct investment has proven lower than expected; whilst Northern Gritstone noted during the event that other sectors of interest to VCs, such as DeepTech & AI, are growing exponentially.
Investors want to see more than a compelling vision – they require evidence of tangible progress, clear milestones and a well-defined path to market. In order to secure investment, life science innovators therefore need to consider how to demonstrate a streamlined route to market.
So, how can life science innovators get ahead?
Accelerating development doesn’t mean cutting corners – rather, working more efficiently and making more strategic decisions.
The event highlighted that partnering with industry experts will enable innovators to strengthen their business case and optimise product development by leveraging the expertise and experience required to bring a product to market. Collaboration with an experienced partner can also reduce costly redesigns, allow innovators to focus on their strengths, and show investors a credible plan to reduce risk at each stage of development.
As investors expect more robust data, innovators should also consider aligning their technology readiness level (TRL) with funding milestones. TRLs provide a common language between innovators and investors, by offering a structured framework to evaluate feasibility, reduce uncertainty, and assess and communicate product maturity. By mapping the development journey to TRLs, innovators can demonstrate progress, identify gaps in the programme, and build investor confidence with a clear, evidence-based roadmap.
To help facilitate this, eg technology have built a free self-assessment tool that is the first-of-its-kind to integrate clinical, commercial and development pathways with the TRL scale. Innovators looking to secure funding can access the tool here.
Next steps
In a more measured funding environment, innovators must show tenacity and grit – as reflected in Northern Gritstone’s name – and de-risk their proposition to accelerate their route to market. However, Northern Gritstone, and other speakers at the event, reassured that belief in the life sciences sector remains strong and investors will continue to back innovation rooted in world-class research.
To secure significant investment, innovators will need to mitigate risks and demonstrate a clear path to market in order to adapt to the evolving funding environment. Partnering with a product development specialist can demonstrate credibility and build investor confidence, by leveraging decades of experience and expertise of bringing a product to market.
At eg technology, we specialise in helping innovators navigate this journey. Whether you’re aiming to secure early-stage investment or scaling up for commercialisation, our team is here to help you move faster, reduce risk and build with confidence.
Let’s talk about how we can support your next milestone to bring your product to market.
Via email on design@egtechnology.co.uk, by giving us a call on +44 01223 813184, or by clicking here.
