2025年二季度生物制药领域的风险投资趋势（英）2025

EMERGING TECH RESEARCH Biopharma VC Trends VC activity across the biopharma ecosystem REPORT PREVIEWThe full report is available through Contents Biopharma landscape3 Institutional Research Group Biopharma VC ecosystem market map 4 Analysis VC activity5 Ben RiccioAssociate Research Analystben.riccio@pitchbook.com Biopharma VC deal summary21 Data Matthew NacionalesSenior Data Analyst pbinstitutionalresearch@pitchbook.com Publishing Report designed byJosie Doan,Jenna O’Malley, andDrew Sanders Published on August 5, 2025 Biopharmalandscape Mature modalitiesAdvanced modalitiesEmerging modalities Biopharma VC ecosystem market map VC activity In Q2 2025, biopharma VC investment totaled $5.4 billion across 198 deals—both the lowestquarterly figures recorded since data tracking began in 2020. Persistent headwinds for boththe broader VC asset class and the biopharma sector specifically have contributed to a steadydecline in investment since activity peaked in 2021. Across industries, VC investors are prioritizingcapital efficiency, investing in startups with faster exit timelines, and focusing on high-growthtechnologies such as AI. Within biopharma, this risk-off sentiment has shifted investment awayfrom high-risk preclinical assets. Instead, capital is being consolidated in larger deals for assetsthat have demonstrated clinical trial success, as well as startups deploying AI to reduce research& development costs. Additionally, staffing cuts and evolving guidelines in the Food and DrugAdministration have increased uncertainty around approval timelines, adding further risk to analready cautious investing environment. Through the first half of 2025, biopharma VC funding totaled $14.5 billion across 467 deals,marking 14% and 9.7% declines, respectively, from H1 2024. On a trailing 12-month (TTM) basis,deal counts are down 8.6% YoY, while total funding is up 1.7%. With investors flocking to de-riskedassets, the median pre-money valuation reached $54 million in Q2, compared with $42 millionacross 2024. However, median deal values have stayed flat, indicating investors are willingly to paya premium for differentiated assets with faster exit timelines in the current environment. Notable deals Exit activity IPO activity in Q2 highlighted the divergent trends between US and Asia-Pacific (APAC) biopharmamarkets. While three Chinese biopharma startups listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange andthree South Korean startups went public on the Korean Stock Exchange, the US saw only onepublic listing in Q2—a reverse merger that placed Tvardi Therapeutics on the NASDAQ. Notably,Q2 marks the first quarter in our dataset without a US biopharma IPO. As discussed in our2025APAC Healthcare Market Snapshot, large public listings for APAC healthcare startups have beenlargely nonexistent in recent years. But the region’s biopharma sector has experienced rapiddevelopment, with major US and European pharma companies committing billions to licenseChinese assets. This momentum has enabled APAC biopharma startups to defy the muted exitenvironment, as DualityBio, PegBio, and TransThera Bioscience collectively raised $2.2 billion frompublic listings in Q2. Pathos closed the largest deal of the quarter, raising a $365 million Series D at a $1.6 billionvaluation—a 2.1x valuation step-up from its previous round in October 2024. The startup isutilizing its AI-driven precision medicine platform to accelerate development and optimize clinicaltrials for assets previously licensed from Novo Nordisk and Prelude Therapeutics.1With investorsexhibiting caution in the current funding environment, startups deploying AI to advance drugdevelopment, particularly of in-licensed or acquired clinical-stage assets, are gaining traction fortheir reduced costs and potential for shorter approval timelines. In a similar example, Kardiganraised $300 million in Q1 to support its AI-driven development of acquired cardiovascular assets. NewLimit’s $130 million Series B was the largest round for a preclinical startup. The deal valuesthe company at $825 million, a 4.1x step-up from its previous round in January 2025. Thecompany, co-founded by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, is deploying epigenetic reprogrammingto rejuvenate aging cells and prevent age-related disease.2With Altos Labs and Retro also raisingsignificant capital for cellular-reprogramming-based longevity solutions, the category has defiedthe broader market shift away from preclinical assets. Other notable Q2 deals included $150million for Juvenescence, developer of clinical-stage small molecules and biologics to treatage-related conditions, and Antares Therapeutics, which closed a $177 million Series A to advanceits clinical-stage oncology pipeline. In contrast, US startups are facing a more uncertain exit landscape. The Morningstar US BiotechIndex fell 20% YoY at the end of Q2, and while the five US biopharma IPOs in Q1 suggested acautious reopening, market reception to the new entrants