Top 10 Biotech Companies UK to Watch Out for in 2020

What biotechnology will steal the show this year? These biotech companies UK or London right now.

London is undoubtedly one of the largest centers for biotech companies in Europe. The British capital, by far, received the most investment in life sciences in Europe in 2017. However, it has a lot of competition from the other two cities of the Golden Triangle – Oxford and Cambridge.

In recent years, seen significant acquisitions by biotech companies such as Nightstar Therapeutics or Heptares. Many companies London are at the forefront of innovation with cash flow into the urban life sciences. Many of the firms based in the city are the top 10 UK biotech companies you need to know about.

Orchard Therapeutics

Orchard Therapeutics, founded in 2015, is developing several gene therapy candidates to treat rare genetic diseases. Three of them are undergoing major clinical trials and may be approved soon. Last year, the company held an IPO on the Nasdaq, bringing its value to more than € 1 billion.

Autolus

Autolus, a subsidiary of University College London, specializes in the development of next-gen CAR-T therapy. The company aims to overcome the life-threatening side effects of this treatment by killing cancer cells without affecting the healthy T cells needed to protect the body from infections and other external threats.

ReViral

Founded in 2011, ReViral is committed to developing the first antiviral drug against Respiratory Syncytial Virus, or RSV. While this usually results in mild cold symptoms, the virus can be fatal in infants and the elderly.

In Phase IIa clinical trials, the antiviral drug has been shown to reduce viral load and infection symptoms in adults.

Cell Medica

Cell Medica is developing a next-generation CAR-T cancer cell therapy that creates immune cells called natural killer T cells (NKTs) instead of the T cells commonly used for this type of treatment. The company is committed to harnessing the ability of NKT cells to penetrate solid tumors better to expand the use of this therapy beyond blood cancer.

Autifony Therapeutics

Founded in 2011, Autifony Therapeutics, a subsidiary of GSK, is developing therapies for diseases of the nervous system. The company targets ion channel molecules, which play a crucial role in neuronal function.

Autifony is currently conducting two Phase I clinical trials, one in schizophrenia and one in fragile X syndrome. Preliminary results in healthy volunteers appear to indicate that the drug affects the nervous system, which may help schizophrenic patients.

Virion Biotherapeutic drugs

Virion Biotherapeutics is developing “generic antivirals” for respiratory viruses that cause colds and flu. These drugs, made up of an RNA molecule delivered inside viral particles, can block the replication of several types of viruses simultaneously, preventing resistance to antiviral treatments.

Freeline Therapeutics

Founded in 2015, Freeline Therapeutics is committed to treating chronic diseases with gene therapy. The company has developed technology that can deliver genetic material to the liver to provide a functional copy that replaces the mutated gene.

The company tests its first candidate in Phase I / II clinical trials in people with hemophilia B. Preliminary results show that a single dose can stop bleeding for at least nine months. Another Phase I / II study on the rare disease Fabry disease is expected to begin soon.

GammaDelta Therapeutics

GammaDelta Therapeutics is developing cancer cell therapy using a rare type of immune T cells called gamma delta T cells to penetrate better and destroy solid tumors. The technology is yet in the preclinical Phase.