INSIGHT. After several years of a more cautious capital market, there are now signs of renewed investor interest in biotech and pharmaceutical companies in the United States. The number of IPOs has increased, while the sector has also performed strongly on the stock market.
By mid-August 2026, 20 drug-developing biotech companies had listed in the US, raising approximately USD 6.1 billion in total. Over the summer alone, six consecutive biopharma IPOs on Nasdaq were upsized from their original plans, raising a total of USD 1.6 billion. Among the largest listings of the year was Parabilis Medicines, which raised USD 670 million – the largest biotech IPO ever.
Of the 20 biotech companies that had been listed in the US by 19 August, most were relatively advanced in their development. Fifteen had their lead candidate in or close to Phase II or later, were ready to enter Phase III, or had progressed to regulatory review ahead of a potential market approval.
The development is also visible in the stock market. By the end of August, XBI, an exchange-traded fund tracking the US biotech sector, had risen by more than 80% over the previous year. Combined with an increase in IPOs and several oversubscribed share offerings, this suggests improved market sentiment towards the sector. For investors, the development is noteworthy because both stock market performance and activity in the IPO market have improved at the same time.
During the sector’s most recent recovery, following the 2014–2015 boom, it took around 12 months from the market recovery in the US for activity to pick up in European and Nordic IPOs. After several years of a more cautious market environment, a similar pattern this time could point to increased investor interest in biotech in Europe and the Nordics during the first half of 2027.
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