The BioCentury Show Ep. 106 - Can the U.K. Capture Biotech Value? Daniel Mahony on Growth, Pricing and Reform
Apr 3, 2026
Daniel Mahony, senior partner at Novo Holdings and former chair of the U.K. BioIndustry Association, brings decades of life‑sciences investing and policy experience. He discusses U.K. clinical trial reform and how trials drive NHS adoption. He covers the U.K. scale‑up funding gap, pension and pricing barriers, and practical uses of AI in biotech.
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Engage Pension Funds Through Education And Convening
- Do educate and engage pension funds to increase risk tolerance and allocate to venture/scale-up capital.
- Mahony describes the Mansion House initiative and a Sterling 20 group convening pension funds with biotech investors to shift allocations.
Pension Asset Shift Created A Scale-Up Funding Gap
- UK pension funds now hold a tiny share of UK equities, reducing domestic risk capital for scale-ups.
- Mahony quantifies the shift and says UK pension equity exposure fell to ~6%, leaving a £15–20bn scale-up funding gap for life sciences.
UK Strength Is Invention Not Propagation
- The UK excels at invention but struggles to propagate innovations across the health system, limiting economic capture.
- Mahony highlights NHS scale as an opportunity: do trials, then propagate therapies nationwide to create exportable models.