Infectious disease-focused biopharma companies continued their rebound into year-end, with the BioWorld Infectious Disease Index finishing 2025 up 68.55% after standing at a collective 28.98% at the end of October. The rally underscores a sharp reversal from earlier in the year, when the index had declined 17.83% by the end of April before recovering to a 4.34% gain by July.
Med-tech M&A activity opened 2026 at a slower pace, with January deal value totaling $665.33 million, coming in well below the 2025 monthly average of $3.51 billion and trailing most individual months last year.
Biopharma dealmaking continued its momentum into 2026, with January logging $31.16 billion in total value. That figure outpaced January 2025’s $28.63 billion and exceeded the 2025 monthly average of $24.38 billion. In addition, January 2026 ranks as the highest first month in the past eight years.
After a prolonged downturn, the med-tech IPO market rebounded in 2025, with deal value surging to $13.01 billion across 31 offerings. The recovery followed two muted years, with just $619 million raised in 2024 and a low-point of $110 million in 2023.
Total biopharma financings rose to $10.79 billion in January 2026, up from $9.08 billion in December. The monthly total nearly matched the January 2024 record of $10.9 billion, far exceeding the $6.82 billion average monthly haul in 2025.
While in 2025 med-tech financings averaged $3.3 billion per month, January 2026 saw the sector bring in $1.52 billion across 39 transactions. It was the lowest monthly total since November 2024’s $924.59 million. However, a number of months last year saw fluctuating values, ranging from $1.65 billion in July to $8.26 billion in December 2025, indicating uncertainty as to how industry financings will shake out this year.
Total biopharma financings rose to $10.79 billion in January 2026, up from $9.08 billion in December. The monthly total nearly matched the January 2024 record of $10.9 billion, far exceeding the $6.82 billion average monthly haul in 2025.
The BioWorld Cancer Index closed 2025 up 72.35%, outpacing gains in the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (up 32.4%) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (up 12.97%). The year featured standout gains, led by Terns Pharmaceuticals Inc., which surged 620%.
BioWorld tracked 215 clinical trial readouts spanning phases I through III in December 2025, a sizeable increase from 170 updates in November, but below the 252 reported in October.
After reaching their peaks in late November, both the BioWorld Drug Developers Index and the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index finished the year slightly down from those highs.