Biopharma executives’ confidence in the industry has reached its highest point in four years, reflecting a successful navigation through a largely disrupted geopolitical landscape.
GlobalData’s State of the Biopharmaceutical Industry 2026 (Mid-Year Update), which surveyed 157 pharmaceutical professionals, found that 55% of respondents felt optimistic or very optimistic about industry growth over the next 12 months. This is up 46% from 2023 – a time when there were widespread concerns regarding funding and capital costs.
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Current optimism within the sector shows a level of robustness given the magnitude of regulatory and political overhaul in the past year, particularly in the US. President Donald Trump has threatened pharma companies with tariffs, implemented Most Favored Nation (MFN) drug pricing, along with overseeing a tumultuous era at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The global industry also had to navigate significant disruption due to the US/Israel-Iran conflict, during which the Strait of Hormuz – a major shipping route – was blocked.
Headwinds such as US tariffs and government actions were highlighted by 69% of survey respondents as the biggest policy concern facing the industry. The value by those answering in Europe – where tariff and pricing affects are being felt more acutely – rose to 78%.
Hannah Hans, head of pharma strategic intelligence at GlobalData, says: “What makes this recovery noteworthy is what is driving it. This is not a story of improved external conditions. The US tariffs, MFN pricing reform, Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)-related drug price negotiations, and the looming patent cliff have not gone away. It is a story of an industry that absorbed significant disruption, made challenging decisions, and reprioritised.”
Dealmaking dominates first half of 2026
Urgency for those decisions is being fuelled by the ongoing patent cliff – the largest loss of exclusivity (LOE) periods ever to hit the industry. According to GlobalData, the share of global drug sales under patent protection will only be 4% in 2030, compared to 12% in 2022.
With hundreds of billions in revenue exposed to generics, pharma companies have been accelerating in-house R&D along with replenishing pipeline assets. Q1 2026 M&A deal value rose 71% year over year, according to GlobalData’s analysis. This concurs with a PwC report released this week that outlined Q1 life sciences and pharma deals surpassed $65bn, marking the strongest quarter since 2020.
Eli Lilly has been a major driving force this year, undertaking an extensive M&A strategy in 2026. Not wishing to rest on the laurels of weight loss drug success, the drugmaker has so far bought 10 companies this year. The most expensive of these was the $7.8bn deal to buy sleep drug biotech Centessa at the beginning of January.
Q2 shows no signs of slowing, either. The two largest deals in pharma came in the current quarter – Sun Pharma’s $11.75bn takeover of Organon and GSK’s $10.6bn acquisition of cancer specialist Nuvalent in April and June, respectively.
Hans continues: “Deal activity at this level is always telling. When companies are willing to commit capital at scale, it means they have done the work internally and like what they see. The science in cardiometabolic, oncology, and neurology is genuinely compelling right now, and the market is pricing that in.”
Respondents in GlobalData’s report particularly highlighted neurology and immunology as therapeutic areas with significant advancement. Drug classes like bispecific antibodies and gene therapies mean the industry is maintaining its shift towards precision medicine. Just yesterday (18 June), Biogen spent up to $1bn to acquire RayThera, a biotechnology company specialising in small-molecule therapies for immunology.
Connor Daniels, healthcare analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Pharmaceutical companies that are building multi-modality central nervous system (CNS) and immunology portfolios appear to be best positioned to capture value across the anticipated therapeutic evolution.”
While some biotechs are being bought by big pharma companies, others are seeking exits via public listings. GlobalData points to a resurgent IPO market, the activity of which is up 210%. Earlier this month, Parabilis Medicines secured the largest IPO in biotech history when it listed on the Nasdaq with $670m in proceeds. Parabilis’ IPO came just two months after Kailera Therapeutics – a biotech developing obesity therapies – secured $625m in a US listing. At the time, this was the largest IPO in biotech history, meaning the record has been broken twice in as many months.
