UK-based biotech companies and their investors are slowly coming to terms with the likely exit or “Brexit” of the United Kingdom from the European Union. Speculation about what Brexit means for biotech has been circulating since the stunning referendum result from June, but the full consequences are still only beginning to sink in. Based on recent conversations with a number of UK venture investors and biotech company CEOs, it seems that there is a growing sense of alarm. In sharp contrast to the early euphoria seen in the market for US biotech company shares over the election of Donald Trump, the UK sector is preparing itself for a painful period of retrenchment.
