More than £830m in fresh capital was raised in the three months to the end of February, almost topping the £894m raised in the first six months of 2020.

BIA CEO Steve Bates OBE said: “This strong start to 2021, with investments outpacing the record setting year of 2020, shows the incredible appetite amongst international and some domestic investors for the UK’s world leading biotech and life sciences companies.

“This has been reinforced by the recent announcement that £1 billion will be invested in the sector through a UAE-UK Sovereign Investment Partnership.

“This quarter has also seen significant private sector investments into UK medicine manufacturing capability and clinical development pipelines, which has fuelled increased confidence in the sectors outlook for 2021.”

Mike Ward, Global Head of Thought Leadership at Clarivate, said: “In the three months to 28 February, the global biotech sector has maintained the momentum of last year’s record-breaking financial activity.

“According to data collected and curated by BioWorld, biotechs across the world raised almost £26.7bn, more than double the amount raised in the same period a year earlier. It is clear that investor appetite for the sector has not been satiated.”