After the drought, biotech IPO activity begins to pick up in 2026

After the drought, biotech IPO activity begins to pick up in 2026 By Jules Adam 7 minutesmins March 20, 2026 7 minutesmins Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email Photo credits: Salvatore Favata Newsletter Signup - Under Article / In Page"*" indicates required fieldsEmailThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest biotech news!By clicking this I agree to receive Labiotech's newsletter and understand that my personal data will be processed according to the Privacy Policy.*Company name*Job title*Business email* After several years of slowdown, early signs in 2026 suggest that the biotech initial public offering (IPO) market may be reopening. The sector has experienced a prolonged drought, with just 11 biotech IPOs recorded in 2025, one of the lowest levels in years. Yet activity has begun to pick up again in recent months, with multiple listings already completed and others in preparation. In February alone, biotech IPOs raised around $1.4 billion, pointing to improving investor appetite. The IPOs we saw in early 2026 are definitely a signal, but it’s not a guarantee the window is fully open. Indeed, Janita Good, corporate and intellectual property partner at Fieldfisher, told Labiotech that while the public market remains cautious, there are signs that more companies may be preparing to go public in 2026. Table of contentsA market that has been largely shut Biotech IPO activity peaked during the pandemic-era boom of 2020 and 2021, when low interest rates and strong investor appetite for growth drove a surge in listings. In 2021 alone, around 100 biotech companies went public globally, raising billions of dollars and marking one of the most active periods on record. Strong post-IPO performance at the time helped sustain demand, allowing even early-stage companies to access public markets. “The 2021 market was buoyant, driven by low interest rates and strong post‑IPO share performance, which supported high valuations,” noted Brad Isaac, corporate partner and equity capital markets lead at Fieldfisher. That environment shifted abruptly from 2022 onwards. As interest rates rose and macroeconomic conditions deteriorated, investors moved away from high-risk, long-duration assets such as biotech. The number of biotech IPOs fell from more than 100 in 2021 to just over 20 in 2022, and then remained in the low tens in the following years. By 2025, only a handful of companies were able to go public. Beyond macroeconomic pressure, the downturn was reinforced by weak aftermarket performance. Many companies that went public during the boom struggled to maintain their valuations, and subsequent IPO cohorts often failed to deliver returns, further hurting investor confidence. The result was not simply a slowdown, but a near-complete shutdown of the IPO window for much of the sector. As Good puts it, “Investors have been very risk-off, making it difficult for small-cap, pre-revenue companies to raise funds.” For many biotech companies, particularly those at earlier stages of development, access to public capital effectively disappeared, forcing them to delay listing plans and contributing to a growing backlog of IPO candidates. Suggested Articles The biggest biotech funding rounds in February 2026 The biggest biotech funding rounds in January 2026 Gold rush over: what happens to biotech now that venture capital is out of reach? What does 2026 hold for the biotech industry? Biotech IPO market shows early signs of reopening in 2026There are now concrete signs that the biotech IPO market is becoming more functional again. After a quiet 2025, when only around 10 biotech IPOs were completed, the first two months of 2026 have already brought a visible pickup in activity, with several companies returning to public markets and February alone delivering nearly $1.4 billion in biotech stock offerings. That is still far below the levels seen during the 2020-2021 boom, but it marks a meaningful shift from the near-standstill that defined much of the past two years. “There has been an uptick in equity capital markets activity since late 2025, with many IPOs completing in Q4 of that year. More stable economic conditions and lower interest rates have made equities more attractive. Strong performance of major indices such as the FTSE 100 has helped sentiment,” said Good. This improved sentiment is backed by a series of IPOs in the first quarter of 2026. Aktis Oncology raised about $318 million in January, followed in February by larger offerings from Eikon Therapeutics and Generate Biomedicines, as well as listings from Agomab Therapeutics and SpyGlass Pharma. Other IPOs that haven’t closed yet are in the works too: EIR Biopharma, a preclinical biotech focused on eye diseases, filed for a $17 million IPO in late February, and Salspera, a company advancing a salmonella-based cancer into phase 3, is also planning a $91 million IPO. Isaac also noted a signal that is less visible from the outside but perhaps more important for judging whether the market is truly reopening: “There has been a noticeable rise in IPO enquiries over the past six months, with more of these enquiries turning into actual mandates.” A few completed IPOs can still be dismissed as isolated transactions, but a rise in mandates suggests more companies and their advisers believe conditions have improved enough to move from watching the market to actively preparing to list. Still, the recovery remains cautious. Several of the deals completed this year have not enjoyed especially strong aftermarket trading: Eikon opened below its offer price, Agomab fell in its Nasdaq debut, and Generate also slipped after listing. That uneven reception suggests investors are re-engaging with biotech IPOs, but selectively and on stricter terms than during the last boom. A backlog of IPO candidates The recent pickup in IPO activity also points to a pipeline of companies that have been waiting on the sidelines. “Several potential IPO candidates paused their plans during 2025 while waiting to see whether market conditions would improve before proceeding,” said Good. At least part of the recent activity is not entirely new, but rather a delayed pipeline beginning to move again. Beyond individual company decisions, the emerging backlog also reflects how companies adapted to the prolonged IPO slowdown. With public markets largely closed, many biotech firms chose to remain private for longer, relying on existing cash, follow-on venture rounds, or alternative financing to extend their runway. As market conditions begin to improve, some of these companies are now revisiting IPO plans that had previously been put on hold, contributing to a growing pipeline of potential issuers. Biotech IPOs in 2026: A reopening under new conditions If the biotech IPO window is reopening in 2026, it is doing so under different conditions from the boom years. The most visible shift is in investor selectivity. After the excesses of 2020 and 2021, when early-stage companies were able to access public markets with limited clinical validation, the bar for new listings has risen significantly. “Since 2021, investors have become more risk-averse, pulling back from early-stage companies. Over the past 6-12 months, however, generalist investors have started to re-engage, cautiously seeking exposure to higher-risk, less-liquid stocks again,” said Good. That re-engagement, however, remains conditional. Good also notes that “Investors are likely to favor clinical-stage companies with phase 2 or later data, as well as companies with a clear path to revenue or strategic funding.” This suggests a more disciplined market, where access to public capital is increasingly tied to clinical maturity and a credible development pathway. Recent IPOs reflect that shift, with larger, later-stage companies able to raise substantial capital, but weaker aftermarket performance in several cases suggests that investor support remains selective and sensitive to execution risk. The reopening of the market, in other words, does not imply a return to the broad-based demand seen during the last cycle, but rather a narrower window for companies that can meet these higher expectations. This more constrained environment also reinforces existing geographic imbalances. As Good notes, “Nasdaq remains the more popular option for European biotech companies due to deeper capital pools and higher valuations.” Despite incremental improvements in European capital markets, the structural gap with the U.S., particularly in terms of liquidity, specialist investors, and valuation levels, continues to shape listing decisions. It’s not a sharp rebound; the market appears to be rebuilding gradually. “A gradual increase is more likely than a sudden surge,” Good said, pointing to a recovery that remains dependent on macroeconomic stability. She also highlighted ongoing risks, noting that “geopolitical uncertainty, particularly events in the Middle East, may continue to temper IPO activity in the short to medium term.” While the IPO window may be reopening, it remains fragile and conditional, rather than fully restored. This article is reserved for subscribers Subscribe for free to continue reading.Enter your details to log in or subscribe. 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