This is the first installment in a new series where BioPharma Dive uses data visualization to recap what’s going on across the industry. Today, we’re looking at upswings in M&A and IPOs, as well as a major comeback for a prominent biotech index.
About three years ago, a famous assembly of biotechnology stocks was floundering. To purchase one share of the XBI cost $64, a steep discount from the $168 price point commanded in early 2021, when the coronavirus pandemic made drug development one of the hottest and most investable industries.
Fast forward to August 2026, and the index has recovered to new heights.
The XBI nearly doubled over the past 12 months
The improved sentiment has been fueled by acquisitions and initial public offerings — the two main ways biotech investors earn returns. Twenty drug developers have gone public in 2026, including five this month, according to data compiled by BioPharma Dive. That handily surpasses last year’s total of 11. The hauls are much larger on average, too. Fourteen have exceeeded $250 million, a tally not seen since 2021.
Among the new class, all but four are trading at least 20% higher than their market debut. Shares of the hairloss drugmaker Veradermics, the blood disorder biotech Hemab Therapeutics, the metabolism specialist Vogenx and lung disease-focused Avalyn Pharma have each more than doubled.
Large public market debuts are leading a surge in biotech IPOs
Yet, while biopharma IPOs are “looking strong,” 2026 “is going to be remembered as a year of M&A,” according to the investment banking firm Leerink Partners.
J.P. Morgan, in a recent report, counted 80 biopharma acquisitions from January through the end of June, with a combined upfront value of $96 billion. The activity “continued to skew” toward drugs that were already approved or in mid- to late-stage testing, “reflecting buyer preference for more de-risked assets.”
Biotech buyers aren't shying away from big-ticket acquisitions
There’s reason to believe the dealmaking spree will continue. Partners at the law firm Gibson Dunn explained in their own report how a resurgence in biotech M&A since 2023 has been “powered by necessity.” That’s because large pharmaceutical companies, which are often the most likely buyers, will be “forced to reckon” with north of $200 billion of revenue exposed to loss of patent protections between 2025 and 2030.
Buying “clinically de-risked, mid-cap assets is the fastest way to refill pipelines,” Gibson partners wrote.
