A $316.5-million investment fund launched by the London-based Wellcome Trust in March was followed nine days later by news of a $80-million Pioneer Fund, a tie-up between CRT (Cancer Research Technology), the London-headquartered Cancer Research UK's commercial arm, and the European Investment Fund located in Luxembourg. The Wellcome Trust's Project Sigma will invest in promising new biotechs in the UK and Europe, whereas the Pioneer Fund will back projects—rather than whole companies—emerging from Cancer Research UK's laboratories around the country. The Pioneer Fund aims to plug the existing gap between drug discovery and phase 2 trials. “These amounts are hugely significant when targeted at the early stages up to clinical proof of concept,” says Kevin Johnson, a partner at venture capital firm Index Ventures, of London. “This is not the most expensive step in drug development, but funding is often a challenge because there is so little information for investors at this stage.” Index itself in March joined GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) of London and Johnson & Johnson, of New Brunswick, New Jersey, to form a $200.6-million fund to invest in early-stage life sciences projects, primarily in Europe. Other investments are directed specifically at UK regions. The Welsh government has put $80 million into the new Life Sciences Wales Investment Fund, and in a public-private investment, Scottish Enterprise signed a deal in March with an overseas venture capitalist group to invest in Scottish startups. The joint fund will provide $3.2–$7.9 million in follow-on funding to life sciences companies that have already been through one of two funding rounds but have not yet reached commercialization. Meanwhile, GSK is investing $555 million in a biomanufacturing plant in Ulverston, Cumbria. Index's Johnson notes that with the help of the new cash influx, the 'ecology' of the UK biotech scene is changing for the better. The 'Patent Box' which supports UK intellectual property, the Life Sciences Strategy and National Healthcare Services reform, are all helping to attract entrepreneurs to the UK (Nat. Biotechnol. 30, 125, 2012). Keith Powell, chairman of Domainex, located in Cambridge, UK, says that the money is “a step in the right direction” but adds that it is only enough to take roughly four compounds to phase 3 and these are likely to be sold outside the UK. “We need to create companies that will employ 50 to 100 scientists and contribute long term to the British economy,” he says. Allan Marchington, partner at Apposite Capital in London takes a similar stance: “Great news, but more cash for the sector would be welcome.”