Welcome to the Autumn eNews edition from One Nucleus. Autumn seems to get a mixed reputation. Some suffer from the decreased daylight, the frights of Halloween and loud bangs of November 5th. Others welcome the transition to the cosy evening meetings, October treats and spectacular fireworks, all leading to Thanksgiving and then Christmas. Whilst for some, it feels little is changing enough in the sector as investment remains selective and later-stage, and times are tough.

We need change! One Nucleus embraces the onset of Autumn, not least because it is the run into BIO-Europe where we will be showcasing our members, London Life Science Week where we will welcome the global industry to our back yard and, of course, Genesis to mingle and debate, now including the ON Awards to celebrate together near Oxford Street!

Venture Investment in Drug Discovery in Q3 2026 Reviewing PitchBook data for global venture capital deals in drug discovery in this past quarter showed a slight decline over the summer quarter but still held up well at $5.08Bn. UK totalled £190M across 18 deals. Year to date, the trend is still a good one for 2026 thus far and M&D activity has been extremely strong, with the Nasdaq IPO window also being open for exits. Notable UK deals across July – September 2026 were Draig Therapeutics (£65M), Redx Pharma (£50M), Centauri Therapeutics (£29M) and Alchemab Therapeutics (£25M).

Getting in the Partnering Spirit This quarter of the year is always one of the most hectic schedules of partnering and investment conferences. Even ahead of this newsletter, members have been taking advantage of discounts at Biotech Week Boston and RESI Boston, BioCentury Grand Rounds Europe, and more. One Nucleus continues to support members by securing discounts at BIO Europe and LSX Investival Showcase and Fierce Biotech London. At BIO Europe, One Nucleus will be hosting a booth (space 7-83) where members can enhance their profile, collect the new ON Highlights and, for the first time this year, pop just next door to visit our UK companions at BioPartner as we move towards a clear UK Hub at the event to benefit all.

What Do These Companies All Have in Common? TCS Biosciences, Pharmidex, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Pharmagene Discovery Services, Medicines Discovery Catapult, Alithia Life Sciences and Agility Life Sciences.

They have all elected to purchase the Enhanced Profile package at BIO-Europe, ensuring their profile is raised on the TV screen, and their literature available for visitors. If you would like to join them, please email [email protected] by Friday 23 October.

A Time to Celebrate and Plan Ahead Whilst Jefferies and London Life Sciences Week brings the world to London for an intense week of events (including One Nucleus sessions) the messaging will distill into Genesis just a few weeks later, informing debate through our ecosystem’s lens, what it means, and how to adapt to the trends. Adding the ON Awards to Genesis means attendees will be able to hear from the Shortlisted Nominees first hand in the Company Showcase stream. A dynamic day to gain insights and connections as you plan ahead for JPM Week in January 2027, rounded off with an excellent opportunity to celebrate pre-Christmas with the award winners around the always impressive Christmas Tree at 1 Wimpole Street near Oxford Street in London – is there a better backdrop to reflect on a busy year of achievements with your peers?

You Don’t Want to Miss a Thing Remain informed of all One Nucleus updates, disseminate your company’s news, or track the announcements from other members, and make full use of our website, LinkedIn, or X pages. The news stream contains numerous updates from our community. Enjoy the read!

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Life Sciences Investment Isn't Won in the Pitch Room. It's Won Through the Network. Do founders place too much emphasis on the moment an investor enters the room and not enough on everything that happens beforehand? Read the article by Philippa Clark, Director of Business Development, One Nucleus.

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One Nucleus New Membership Category for Those Who Find Themselves Between Life Science Jobs Being made redundant, or finding yourself between roles for any reason, can be an unsettling time. It can also be an important moment to reconnect with your professional community, explore new opportunities, and invest in your next step.

To support anyone in this position, we are now offering a new Job Seeker membership option. If you’d like to find out more, please get in touch.

Alongside our Job Seeker membership, a reminder that One Nucleus can also support member companies with employees going through redundancy by extending access to membership benefits to those employees for up to 12 months providing the membership stays current. This provides departing colleagues with continued access to networking, jobs, training and mentoring opportunities as they take their next career step. Read about this initiative.

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The Event Conundrum: Can You Get 80% of the Benefit for 20% of the Cost? Choosing the right events to attend to balance cost, approaches, and expectations to meet the business needs most cost-effectively. Read Tony Jones' article on how to choose and review important event dates in 2027.

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ON Helix is Evolving for 2027 ON Helix 2027 with a new date of 27 May, will bring different perspectives together through a refreshed programme, exploring what is changing across the translational landscape, where the barriers remain and what we need to do differently to turn scientific potential into real world impact. Alicia Gailliez, Business Development Manager, One Nucleus explains.

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Being Creative to Deliver Better Patient Outcomes Are there parallels between One Nucleus and its members and the popular TV show 'The Voice'? Find out in this article by Tony Jones, CEO and Harriet Thornton, Events Administrator, One Nucleus.

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Working with the Nucleus of the UK Biotech Landscape There’s a growing sense of optimism among UK biotech leaders brought about by the rise in venture financing and progress being made in the UK Life Sciences Sector Plan 2025 goals and a healthy M&A dynamic. Read Tony Jones' article in Health Awareness Magazine's Life Science Innovation feature.

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The Cost of Uncertainty in Advanced Therapy Manufacturing Patients with cancer, rare diseases and inherited disorders are now receiving treatments that would have seemed unimaginable just a decade ago. Yet alongside these advances sits a persistent challenge: many therapies are just too costly to deliver. Read an overview by Laura Murray, Head of Business Development, Cellular and Molecular Therapies, NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT).

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Why You Should Measure Comparability Debt Before Ever Starting A Study This recent article by Siddharth Krishnan, Director and Principal Consultant at Cellvanta Ltd in Cell&Gene discusses the recurring challenge of demonstrating process and analytical comparability in cell and gene therapy development. Comparability is often treated as a problem that begins when a manufacturing or analytical change occurs. The article introduces “comparability debt” to describe the technical uncertainty that can accumulate earlier, when product and process understanding and analytical capability develop at different rates.

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New One Nucleus Members Offering Discounts to Other Members SciSure - Laboratory data solutions and services o2h Discovery - Integrated drug discovery services

New Preferred Supplier Grabbit & Run - Independent Courier Service

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