With all the focus of late on the U.S. CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the FDA’s 30-plus advisory committees have been flying under the radar, especially since many of them haven’t met for a few years now.

At BioEurope Spring 2026, pharma representatives and investors shared their thoughts about current and future landscapes of different disease areas, and on how to move toward success – both at the level of individual companies and for indications as a whole.

Med-tech M&A activity totaled $18.2 billion in January and February 2026, marking one of the stronger openings in recent years.

There is broad agreement that psychiatric diagnoses in their current form are not reflective of any underlying biology, and that this is one of the things hampering psychiatric drug development. “We are still fully reliant on descriptive diagnoses that yield heterogeneous patient cohorts,” Steve Hyman told the audience at the European Congress of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) Roadmap Meeting on Precision Psychiatry in Amsterdam in January.

U.S. med-tech companies are optimistic about the year ahead and believe that they are well positioned to navigate geopolitical headwinds and the uncertainty that they bring. Their technologies, which span neurosurgery and tissue reconstruction to cardiology and radiation protection, address important clinical needs. With the major U.S. corporates accelerating dealmaking and acquisitions, these companies see strong momentum building for the year ahead.

This year, European med-tech companies continue to navigate an uncertain macro environment created by the reciprocal tariffs on goods entering the U.S., their primary market. Some companies though are adapting supply chains and manufacturing strategies, while others are looking to diversify into other regions. Their technologies after all, address clinical needs, so the sector continues to innovate, conduct trials, present data, raise funds, and deliver products which improve patients’ lives.

Driven by prescription drug prices and oft-repeated claims that nearly every drug developed in the U.S. owes its origins to taxpayer-funded research, watchdog groups and some lawmakers have led demands over the years for price to be considered a “reasonableness” factor in determining whether the government can march in on patents under the Bayh-Dole Act.

Med-tech companies with an AI component in their solutions will certainly find investors willing to back them. AI after all, is being used to develop more effective, smarter technologies. However, investors will only deploy capital into innovations that address genuine clinical needs. The aging population is driving interest in devices targeting cardiovascular and musculoskeletal disorders, and other solutions geared toward neurological conditions, women’s health and diagnostics are also attracting investor attention.

Med-tech companies looking for capital will have to work harder this year to attract investor attention. Even though investment firms have money to deploy, the capital will go toward more targeted opportunities and later-stage companies. For early stage med tech, 2026 is expected to be a tough year, which is raising concerns about the pipeline of innovative technologies in the long term.

Global investors in med tech are confident about exit opportunities in the year ahead. The strategics have already started making acquisitions, the IPO window – which reopened last year – is expected to remain active, and the investment firms have companies in their portfolios that are well-positioned for exit. With fundamentals in the sector still robust, 2026 is expected to reward companies that deliver clear clinical value.