Trends and Insights

2026 Life Sciences Industry Outlook: Regulatory Environment

January 16, 2026 | Posted by Katlin McKelvie; John D.W. Partridge; Lindsay Paulin; Michael Perry; Jonathan M. Phillips; Adam M. Smith; Carlo Felizardo; Samantha Sewall; Hui Fang; Jenna Raspanti; Lindsay Bernsen Wardlaw; Topic(s): Antitrust; False Claims Act; FDA; FDA Guidance; Government Regulation; International Trade; Trends and Insights

Welcome to Part 5 of our 2026 Life Sciences Industry Outlook series. Today, we are wrapping up the week with a review of the regulatory environment for life sciences companies in 2025 and our expectations for what 2026 could bring.

In 2025, life sciences companies faced a fast-moving regulatory environment shaped by the Trump administration’s priorities, including deregulation, the use of policy levers to encourage domestic manufacturing and development, and efforts to reduce healthcare costs for American consumers. We expect this unpredictable atmosphere to continue into 2026. In particular, we anticipate regulatory and enforcement developments in FDA regulation, drug pricing and reimbursement, government contracts, tariffs, and antitrust oversight, although specific outcomes and impacts remain difficult to predict.

2026 Life Sciences Industry Outlook: Collaborations and Licensing

January 15, 2026 | Posted by Ryan A. Murr; Karen A. Spindler; Carson Zheng; Topic(s): License Agreements; Trends and Insights

Welcome to Part 4 of our 2026 Life Sciences Industry Outlook series. Today, we’re looking at life sciences collaborations and licensing activity in 2025 and what it may signal for 2026.

2025 life sciences licensing activity remained resilient and increasingly sophisticated, with stable deal volume, heightened structural customization, and growing geopolitical and technology-driven considerations shaping how biotechs and large pharmaceutical companies approach partnerships heading into 2026.

2026 Life Sciences Industry Outlook: Royalty Finance

January 14, 2026 | Posted by Ryan A. Murr; Karen A. Spindler; Shmuel Giblon; Topic(s): Royalty Finance; Trends and Insights

Welcome to Part 3 of our 2026 Life Sciences Industry Outlook series. Today, we are turning to royalty finance transactions in the life sciences industry in 2025 and what to expect in 2026.

Once again, 2025 marked a year of meaningful growth for royalty finance, underscoring the continued evolution of royalty monetization transactions from niche alternatives into established components of the corporate finance toolkit within the life sciences sector. Aggregate transaction value across leading market participants increased to a record level of approximately $6.5 billion, up from approximately $5.7 billion in 2024. While $6.5 billion remains modest when compared with traditional equity or debt markets, the growth trajectory is notable. As recently as the early 2000s, annual aggregate royalty finance transaction value was estimated at less than $200 million per year, highlighting the extent to which royalty financing has relatively quickly become a mainstream funding solution for biopharmaceutical companies.

2026 Life Sciences Industry Outlook: Capital Markets

January 13, 2026 | Posted by Branden C. Berns; Ryan A. Murr; Melanie E. Neary; Candice D. Johnson; Nicholas G. Linke; Topic(s): Capital Markets; Trends and Insights

Welcome to Part 2 of our 2026 Life Sciences Industry Outlook series. Today, we are focusing on life sciences capital markets activity in 2025 and expectations for 2026.

The life sciences equity capital markets in 2025 were defined by a stark “tale of two halves,” beginning with intense volatility that effectively shuttered deal activity. The first half of the year was marred by significant market uncertainty, particularly following the “Liberation Day” tariff announcements. This event, combined with regulatory upheaval caused major indices like the XBI and Nasdaq to slide. During this period, the capital markets lay dormant—April saw zero priced biotech IPOs and only four priced follow-on deals, three of which were registered directs.

2026 Life Sciences Industry Outlook: Mergers and Acquisitions

January 12, 2026 | Posted by Branden C. Berns; Ryan A. Murr; Melanie E. Neary; Evan Shepherd; Ayushi Sutaria; Maggie Zhang; Topic(s): M&A; Trends and Insights

Welcome to Part 1 of our 2026 Life Sciences Industry Outlook series. We are kicking off the week with a look at life sciences M&A activity in 2025 and what it may signal for 2026.

M&A activity in 2025 accelerated sharply, marking one of the busiest years on record. Aggregate deal value and the number of announced transactions rose meaningfully from 2024, buoyed by marginally improving financing conditions, greater boardroom confidence, and clearer regulatory expectations in the second half of the year. Mega-cap and upper‑mid‑market deals returned alongside a still‑healthy cadence of bolt‑on acquisitions and other smaller transactions by companies focused on incremental pipeline enhancements and portfolio gaps. Therapeutically, 2025 activity remained anchored beyond traditional oncology into cardio-metabolic (including obesity-adjacent assets) and neuroscience/CNS, while radiopharmaceuticals continued to command strategic interest and autoimmune/immunology remained a steady source of durable, de-risked, later-stage pipeline reinforcements.

Introducing Our 2026 Life Sciences Industry Outlook Series

January 12, 2026 | Posted by Branden C. Berns; Ryan A. Murr; Melanie E. Neary; Karen A. Spindler; Topic(s): Trends and Insights

As the life sciences industry kicks off the new year and convenes at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference this week, we are launching a weeklong Biotech Briefings series highlighting key insights from our 2026 Life Sciences Industry Outlook. Following a pivotal year in which deal activity accelerated and capital markets reopened selectively, the industry enters 2026 with cautious optimism—and a sharper focus on execution.

Throughout the week, we will explore the trends shaping life sciences dealmaking and financing in the year ahead, with posts focused on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, royalty finance, collaborations and licensing, and the evolving regulatory environment. Together, these perspectives reflect a market characterized by renewed strategic conviction, disciplined capital deployment, and increasing structural sophistication.

We look forward to sharing our views on what biotech executives, investors, and strategic partners should be watching as 2026 unfolds.

Article: Royalty Finance Comes of Age

November 14, 2025 | Posted by Ryan A. Murr; Topic(s): Royalty Finance; Trends and Insights

On PrivateFundsCFO.com, Ryan Murr discusses how in a rebounding biotech market, royalty finance can play a far more strategic role, provided it’s executed with disciplined underwriting, smart structuring and a genuine partnership with innovators. Access the article here (free registration required).

Getting Ready for Your Q3 Quarterly Reports: Updated Disclosure Regarding Tariffs and Government Shutdown

October 31, 2025 | Posted by Aaron K. Briggs; Melanie E. Neary; Xuan Hong Tran; Topic(s): Government Regulation; International Trade; SEC Disclosure; Trends and Insights

As public companies prepare their third quarter Form 10-Q filings, the rapidly shifting policy landscape has created new disclosure challenges for the life sciences sector. The recently announced pharmaceutical tariffs and ongoing government shutdown both carry potential financial and operational implications that warrant close attention. For biotech companies, these developments underscore the need for clear, proactive disclosure around supply chain resilience, pricing exposure, and regulatory uncertainty. In this post, we outline key disclosure considerations to help issuers navigate this evolving environment and manage investor expectations heading into the end of the year.

M&A Thirty Days into the Government Shutdown: First Transaction to Close That Launched During the Shutdown

October 30, 2025 | Posted by Ryan A. Murr; Bradley P. Smith; Branden C. Berns; Melanie E. Neary; Topic(s): Government Regulation; M&A; Trends and Insights

Thirty days into the U.S. government shutdown, most federal agencies are operating with only “essential” personnel. The SEC and FTC are running with minimal staffing, authorized to take only limited actions. At the SEC, no registration statements have been declared effective since the shutdown began, and a backlog of more than 1,000 filings is expected to await review once operations resume.

Trump’s 100% Pharma Tariffs: Manageable for Large Pharma; Challenging for Biotechs

September 26, 2025 | Posted by Ryan A. Murr; Pamela Lawrence Endreny; Terrell Ussing; Karen A. Spindler; Branden C. Berns; Melanie E. Neary; Ryan Rott; Topic(s): Government Regulation; International Trade; Trends and Insights

On September 25, 2025, President Trump announced 100% tariffs on imported branded or patented pharmaceuticals, effective October 1, 2025, unless the importing company is building U.S. manufacturing capacity (defined in President Trump’s announcement as “breaking ground and/or under construction”). The policy is being advanced under Section 232 “national security” authority.