Q1 2026 Round Up:
Proceed….With Caution
The first quarter of the year got off to a predictably shaky start for a biopharma market which is marked by increasing uncertainty and turmoil. Huge cuts at the FDA, coupled with the will-they/won’t-they situation on tariffs for pharmaceutical...
March Surge Lifts First Quarter M&A Totals to Recent Highs
Biopharma IPOs Had Their Best Showing in More Than a Year in Q1
Venture Funding Keeps a Steady Pace in Q1
Biopharma Mid-Cap Investors on a Yo-Yo Diet in Q1
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The first quarter of 2026 illustrated how unevenly momentum can build across the biopharma sector. Activity in mergers and acquisitions, public equity markets and private financing followed different trajectories over the period, yet together they offer valuable insight into how capital is being allocated and how risk is being assessed in a changing environment.
This report examines those dynamics, based on data from Evaluate Pharma and Scrip’s analysis of the first quarter.
We’ll start with merger and acquisition activity – an area where there’s been cause for optimism over the past year. A measured start to the year was followed by a flurry of dealmaking activity in March, though average deal value was lower than in the final quarter of 2025. Loss of exclusivity continues to provide impetus for deals, and there remains more than enough firepower in the sector to strike the right deals in 2026 – many of which are likely to be with China-based biotechs.
Not for the first time, public markets present a rather nuanced picture. Initial public offerings were at their strongest in over a year, driven by a small number of sizeable flotations. But, in a reversal of the dealmaking picture, activity was concentrated early in the quarter, potentially due to a geopolitical landscape that continues to drive industrial levels of uncertainty.
Venture capital funding remained relatively steady compared with recent quarters. Overall investment levels dipped slightly, but there was a notable shift in composition, with increased activity in mid‑sized rounds alongside continued support for a limited number of large financings. Investors are increasingly selective, prioritizing assets that demonstrate both technical credibility and a clear path to value creation.
In our final piece of analysis, we highlight the mid-cap players and investigate recent share price activity of that cohort. As is often the case, there were some big swings in the quarter with specialist oncology companies making the most gains.
Where does that leave us? Capital is available, but it is being deployed carefully. Uncertainty is going nowhere, but it’s fueling caution rather than collapse.
For more timely, data-driven insights into the pharma market, check out Scrip.
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