Eli Lilly and Co. posted $19.8 billion in first-quarter 2026 revenue, driven by tirzepatide, marketed as Mounjaro for type 2 diabetes and Zepbound for obesity. The Indianapolis-based drugmaker is channeling cash flow from these blockbuster GLP-1 drugs into an aggressive dealmaking campaign — about $25.1 billion across 10 announced acquisitions so far this year and more than $26 billion in other closed deals.

The U.S. FDA approved 24 drugs in May 2026, the busiest month of the year so far. Up from April’s 14, it brings the year-to-date total to 84 approvals. Through May, the agency has cleared 20 new molecular entities, a pace that, if sustained, would put 2026 on track to approach or exceed several recent years.

Med-tech M&A value through the first five months of 2026 reached $62.98 billion, the highest total for the period since 2022’s $84.13 billion and a dramatic step up from 2025’s $22.4 billion and 2024’s $21.86 billion over the same stretch.

Biopharma deal value through the first five months of 2026 reached $135.36 billion, outpacing every prior year and topping 2025’s previous high of $103.92 billion. May was the year’s biggest month so far at $41.78 billion in transactions, making it one of the strongest individual months on record, and far outpacing April’s $13.87 billion.

Biopharma deal value through the first five months of 2026 reached $135.36 billion, outpacing every prior year and topping 2025’s previous high of $103.92 billion. May was the year’s biggest month so far at $41.78 billion in transactions, making it one of the strongest individual months on record, and far outpacing April’s $13.87 billion. May 2026 comes in third in recent years in terms of deal value, after October 2023’s $44.91 billion and December 2022’s $42.45 billion.

The biotech industry delivered another year of strong headline performance in 2025, yet beneath the surface, a growing divide between the industry’s haves and have-nots is reshaping every dimension of how companies raise money, build pipelines and navigate an increasingly volatile policy environment. That is the message of the EY Biotech Beyond Borders Report 2026, an annual industry analysis produced by EY Insights that framed the sector’s defining challenge in a single question: “How can biopharma keep its balance?”

Total biopharma financing through the first five months of 2026 reached $49.46 billion, the third-highest total for the period in the dataset and more than doubling of 2025’s $21.4 billion over the same stretch.

Total med-tech financing through the first five months of 2026 reached $11.01 billion, falling between 2024’s $12.76 billion and 2023’s $8.95 billion over the same period, and trailing 2025’s $14.83 billion.

Total biopharma financing through the first five months of 2026 reached $49.46 billion, the third-highest total for the period in the dataset and more than doubling of 2025’s $21.4 billion over the same stretch.

The BioWorld Neurological Diseases Index (BNDI) ended May up 12.29% for the year, outpacing both the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (up 4.95%) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (up 6.18%), a reversal from 2025 when the BNDI trailed both broader benchmarks.