EY UK DNA of the CFO - Key findings
UK CFOs are being asked to play a bigger role in how organisations create value. As AI reshapes business models, accelerates change and transforms the nature of work, finance is increasingly expected not only to measure performance, but to help shape it. The next evolution of finance is not about producing more insight. It is about turning ambition into value.Yet ambition alone is not enough. While 81% of UK CFOs expect AI-enabled business models, only 8% say AI is fully integrated across finance operations. The challenge is no longer recognising the…
Global IPO markets are progressing on different trajectories. Prepared companies that maintain timing flexibility are positioned to win.
In brief
IPO markets are gaining momentum, with strong 1H activity setting the stage for what could be a historic 2H 2026.
Markets are strong, but execution windows may be episodic and could be shaped by mega-IPOs and geopolitics.
Companies pursuing public listings are using more flexible approaches — IPOs, direct listings and SPACs — to capitalize on improving market conditions.
Stevenage, UK, 3 August 2026 - NRG Therapeutics Ltd. (“NRG”), a clinical stage neuroscience company developing novel disease-modifying therapeutics that rectify mitochondrial dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases, is pleased to announce the appointment of Claus Sundgreen M.D. as chief medical officer (CMO), effective 1 August 2026.
A recognized leader in neuroscience drug development with particular expertise in ALS, Dr Sundgreen brings over 25 years of clinical leadership with experience spanning translational medicine and all phases of clinical development from first-in-human studies…
Round led by Molten Ventures alongside existing investors Hargreave Hale AIM VCT, XTX Ventures, Guinness Ventures, Meltwind, and Ascension
Investment will support Qureight’s next-generation AI-powered quantitative imaging platform to further accelerate clinical trials in lung fibrosis
Building a state of the art AI imaging laboratory will allow Qureight to move rapidly into new lung and heart diseases including asthma, pulmonary hypertension and bronchiectasis
Cambridge, UK, 29 July 2026 – Qureight, an end-to-end imaging company that provides enterprise-grade imaging and precision…
Offers UK academic, biotech and biopharma researchers direct access to specialist project support, 10x Genomics Chromium Single Cell-based workflows, sequencing infrastructure and bioinformatics expertise
Cambridge, UK, 27 July 2026: Novogene Europe, a multiomics research services partner, today announced that it has expanded its single-cell RNA sequencing capability at its Cambridge Omics Centre. This expansion brings single-cell sequencing workflows built around the 10x Genomics Chromium platform closer to academic, biotech and biopharma researchers in the UK. The service builds on Novogene…
Pioneer Group has announced the launch of new regional accelerator programmes designed to support early-stage life science and tech companies accelerate their journey to market.
Pioneer delivers the most comprehensive suite of accelerator and venture building activity across the UK and Ireland, helping founders to transfer cutting-edge discovery into visionary ventures that scale. To date, Pioneer has supported more than 350 entrepreneurs and funded over 195 companies, which have collectively raised £830 million in investment.
Tailored to regional strengths and innovation ecosystems, the new…
Cambridge, UK – 22 July, 2026 – Healx, an AI-powered, clinical-stage biotech company dedicated to rare diseases, today announced that the first patient has been dosed in its Phase 1/2 dose-escalation and dose-confirmation clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of HLX-4310, an investigational oral combination of a class I selective HDAC inhibitor and an mTOR inhibitor, in adolescents and adults with relapsed, refractory sarcoma, with a focus on osteosarcoma.
Osteosarcoma is a rare, aggressive bone cancer that most often affects children, adolescents, and young adults.…
Leadership expansion reinforces ELRIG's commitment to delivering impactful drug discovery initiatives and driving community-wide collaboration
Cambridge, UK, 21 July 2026: ELRIG, a not-for-profit, volunteer-led organisation dedicated to the global drug discovery community, has appointed Drs Hitesh Sanganee and Marcus Schindler to its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). Their appointments strengthen ELRIG's scientific leadership and reinforce the organisation's commitment to delivering relevant, forward-thinking scientific programmes that reflect the evolving needs of the drug…
We recently hosted our Ask the Experts Live Q&A: From Preclinical to First-in-Human.
In this session, our experts explored the strategic decisions that shape early clinical success, covering key considerations for transitioning from preclinical development into first-in-human studies. Drawing on their extensive experience, they discussed common challenges, practical approaches to reducing development risk, and the critical decisions that can help keep programmes on track.
If you coldn't join us live, the full recording is now available to watch on demand at your convenience: https://…
Pioneer Group, a specialist life science infrastructure and venture building business, and Firoka, a hospitality and real estate group, have secured unanimous resolution to grant planning permission for the transformation of Ozone Leisure Park in Oxford.
The decision marks a major milestone for Ozone Oxford, a new mixed-use campus that will bring together research, workspace, leisure and community facilities on the existing Ozone Leisure Park site.
It follows planning approval granted earlier this year for Pioneer Group's redevelopment of 1–12 Magdalen Street, the former Debenhams…