Chart to Watch: Biopharma dealmaking gains momentum
After a notable pickup toward the end of last year, biopharma M&A and IPO activity have accelerated in 2026. Portfolio Manager Andy Acker discusses how the increase in deal activity mirrors the pace of innovation taking place across biotechnology and its potential implications for the broader healthcare sector.
Source: Bloomberg, as of 30 June 2026. Represents global M&A transactions where the target industry is classified as Biotech & Pharma.
What excites us most isn't necessarily the increase in deal activity, but what it says about innovation across the biotech landscape. We continue to see a broad wave of scientific advances taking shape in areas such as oncology, immunology, rare diseases, and other fields with significant unmet medical need. The pickup in M&A and capital markets activity suggests strategic acquirers and investors increasingly recognize the value of these innovations and their potential to improve patient outcomes.
Key takeaways
- Despite a higher interest-rate backdrop than many expected at the start of the year, the momentum we saw building in biotech deal activity has continued unabated, with both the dollar value and breadth of transactions inflecting higher during the first half of 2026.
- The continued pace of acquisitions highlights biotechnology's important role in driving healthcare innovation. Notably, many deals have targeted small- and mid-cap biotech companies advancing promising clinical programs, an area where we continue to find attractive investment opportunities. With large pharmaceuticals under pressure to replace hundreds of billions of dollars in drug revenues that will lose patent protection in the coming years, we believe demand for differentiated biotech assets should remain strong.
- Beyond M&A, biotech initial public offering (IPO) activity has rebounded, including two of the largest biotech IPOs on record during the second quarter. A healthier funding environment can benefit the broader biopharmaceutical ecosystem, helping support the discovery and development of future medicines while creating opportunities for companies providing the tools and services that enable innovation.
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Key investment risks:
- The Fund's investments in equities are subject to equity market risk due to fluctuation of securities values.
- Investments in the Fund involve general investment, currency, hedging, economic, political, policy, foreign exchange, liquidity, tax, legal, regulatory, securities financing transactions related and small/ mid-capitalisation companies related risks. In extreme market conditions, you may lose your entire investment.
- The Fund may invest in financial derivatives instruments for investment and efficient portfolio management purposes. This may involve counterparty, liquidity, leverage, volatility, valuation, over-the-counter transaction, credit, currency, index, settlement default and interest risks; and the Fund may suffer total or substantial losses.
- The Fund's investments are concentrated in companies (may include small/ mid capitalization companies) with life sciences orientation and may be more volatile.
- Investors should not only base on this document alone to make investment decisions and should read the offering documents including the risk factors for further details.