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Gravity in the US, counterweights in the UK and Europe

intends to replace its American depositary receipts with a full New York Stock Exchange listing, while retaining its Cambridge HQ and primary London and Stockholm listings. Chair Michel Demaré frames this as a move to a harmonised structure that taps deeper US capital. The company has flagged up to $50 billion of US investment in manufacturing and research by 2030.

At the same time, reports in the suggest ministers are prepared to pay more for certain medicines. Varun Chandra, the prime minister鈥檚 business adviser, flew to Washington to discuss tariffs, while Trade Secretary Peter Kyle said pharmaceutical firms are proving 鈥渉ard negotiators.鈥�   The outcome will influence boardroom decisions on where to place R&D, clinical and manufacturing footprints. It will also test the government鈥檚 commitment to the Life Sciences Plan and the long-term industrial strategy that seeks to position the UK as a global life sciences powerhouse.

Across the Atlantic, Washington signalled a more transactional approach through a voluntary pact with r that ties Medicaid prices to most favoured nation levels, layers discounts on direct sales, and exempts the company from specific tariffs in return for a promised $70 billion investment in US R&D and manufacturing. Analysts see the pact as largely symbolic. Cantor Fitzgerald notes that Pfizer did not change its financial forecasts, but it removes two major overhangs for the sector: the threat of punitive price legislation and tariffs. Other C鈥憇uites are expected to seek similar arrangements.

These developments underline that the US will remain a prime target for manufacturing investment and exert an influence over big pharma strategies. Even so, Europe and the UK could become more appealing thanks to factors such as lower R&D costs relative to the US. Life science occupiers will need to shape their property strategies with an eye on evolving government policies and the shifting balance of incentives across regions.

Biopharma re-examined

At a recent , BIA chair Dan Mahoney urged the sector to refresh its mental model. He argued that sustained interest rates on borrowing, cash flow, profit margins, and return on invested capital are now supplanting revenue growth are the foremost concerns for biopharma investors. 鈥淭he cost of capital is back,鈥� he said. He expects further US pressure on drug prices and suggests Europe may look relatively more attractive on R&D and manufacturing cost. He also highlighted China鈥檚 growing role in early-stage clinical trials and set out a challenge to the UK - fuse its scientific assets into the most capital-efficient proof-of-concept machine in the world. Cultural shifts matter too, from patient-centric and direct-to-patient care models to more women in biotech leadership.

The trust defecit in pharma

Fresh data shows satisfaction with pharmaceutical companies slipping among Generation Z and Millennials. Almost two fifths of Gen Z now trust social media for health information, far above older cohorts. Pricing controversies and pandemic scars have dented brand equity, with knock-on effects for recruitment, trial participation and licence to operate. Real estate can be part of the remedy. Transparent campuses with visitor galleries, ground-floor engagement spaces, cafés and community health hubs make science visible. High-performing sustainable design reinforces credibility. Buildings can communicate values.

From start-up to titan: The AI race continues

plans to triple its overseas workforce and expand  its applied-AI team fivefold to meet demand for Claude. Usage is already majority international, with new hiring across Dublin, London and Zurich, and an office opening in Tokyo among the plans. reported $4.3 billion in first-half 2025 revenue, heavy cash burn, and a record valuation following a secondary sale. , the Nvidia-backed data centre operator, has inked long-term, multi-billion-dollar capacity deals with Meta and OpenAI as Big Tech races to secure compute.  It is worth remembering that Anthropic was founded in 2021, OpenAI in 2015 and CoreWeave in 2017.

Bain鈥檚 latest notes that while the magnificent seven retain their lead, AI has spawned challengers across the stack, from infrastructure and models to devices, search and browsers. Expect greater competition in this space and greater demand from the AI sector. Early identification of the potential next titans is key.

Sovereign AI, supply chains and robotics: new maps for growth

Bain also reports that Governments are tightening export controls, subsidising domestic chip ecosystems and promoting sovereign AI. The result is a patchwork of regional hubs and data residency rules and for real estate fragmented supply chains and tailored infrastructure.  Meanwhile, humanoid and service robotics funding is rising ($2.5 billion in 2024), but deployments still cluster in structured environments such as warehouses, factories and selected retail or hospitality settings.

Therapeutics spotlight: MASH

MASH ( a chronic condition where fat accumulates in the liver) now affects tens of millions globally, making it the fastest-growing cause of liver disease.  With only one FDA-approved therapy to date, late-stage pipelines are becoming crowded and investment is increasing. Big Pharma is leaning in through acquisitions and licensing. In the past week agreed to buy 89bio for up to $3.5 billion. New therapies will trigger site selection and M&A ripples as firms reconfigure portfolios and scale commercial operations.

Early signals from preliminary UK life sciences data

Treat one quarter鈥檚 data with caution, but the early read points to three clear signals:

1. Formation is fanning out

Company births are no longer confined to the Golden Triangle. London still leads (88 firms formed in Q3), but the North West and West Midlands now vie for the next slots with 28 and 26 new company formations each.  Looking over a five-year period the North West has grown its active life sciences company base faster than southern peers. The number of active life sciences companies in the North West has climbed by 13.7 % over that period to 1,459, outpacing growth of 7.0 % in the South East (which has about 2,309 firms) and 11.2 % in the East of England (1,708).

2. Capital pivots to Medtech but remains in the Golden Triangle

Despite the growth in company formations in specific regions outside of the Golden Triangle, the area still dominates VC funding, accounting for nearly 90% of funding in Q3. Just under one鈥憈hird of funded companies were pharmaceutical, with a strong focus on AI-powered firms, the remainder were MedTech businesses focused on monitoring and diagnostics, reflecting a broader shift towards preventive care that aligns with the NHS鈥檚 ten鈥憏ear plan.

3. Vacancies ticked up in August, yet the broader trajectory signals caution.

After a buoyant 2023, when online vacancies averaged 6,248 a month, the market eased back in 2024 to 4,867. The tone in 2025 has been cooler still, with year to date averaging 4,181. Hiring intent sagged in June and July, then steadied with a recovery in August. London remains the engine room. From January to August it generated about 733 postings a month. The South East sits next at around 663 per month in 2025, while the North West follows on roughly 443 per month. Labour demand is present, concentrated in specific hubs but clearly recruitment is more selective.

While the Golden Triangle still dominates, a wider cut of the data and the growth rates point to emerging clusters elsewhere. Identifying demand now means tracking the sub-sectors within life sciences that are outperforming even as funding conditions tighten.

Case study: MBZUAI and the anatomy of an AI campus

I am researching best-in-class AI campuses, and a in Abu Dhabi stands out. Abu Dhabi鈥檚 Mohamed bin Zayed University of artificial Intelligence demonstrates how education, policy and corporate partnerships can anchor a cluster. With rapid growth in faculty, students and post-docs, and collaborations with IBM, Microsoft and G42, the campus has catalysed demand for research facilities, data centres, student housing and neutral collaboration spaces. This is a playbook for sovereign AI ambitions elsewhere. It stands as the world鈥檚 only fully dedicated AI University.  The country also offers 鈥済olden visas鈥� top top talent at the university thereby multiplying its talent base.

Quick reads

• acquired a 12-acre Liverpool site, signalling alternative protein manufacturing scale-up.
• Convatec will relocate R&D to CityLabs 4.0 as part of a 500 million pound UK investment.
• reportedly raised $1.1 billion ahead of an IPO, underscoring investor appetite for AI chips.
• expanded in Chapel-en-le-Frith, consolidating chemistry, ADMET and screening biology.
• named Luke Miels CEO designate as the company navigates strategic pivots.
• is planned within two years to reduce waiting times through remote assessments and follow-ups.
• signals on technical colleges and regulatory simplification.
• closed a $433 million pre-Series C shortly after a record $1.1 billion Series B, reflecting surging demand for AI-grade data infrastructure.