During Episode 32 of Biotalk, Geoff Meyerson, CEO of Locust Walk, unpacks our 2025 Year-In-Review Report: Global Trends in Biopharma Transactions, covering capital markets, strategic deals, and regional trends. Market Overview: 2025 marked a clear recovery year for biopharma. Licensing reached record levels, global M&A nearly doubled in value, and capital markets strengthened in the second half as stabilizing rates lifted sentiment. Most notably, China surpassed the U.S. as the leading source of global licensing value. Strategic Transactions: Global licensing totaled roughly $230B across 179 deals, with strength in both early- and late-stage assets. Discovery and preclinical programs made up about 61% of deals, while a late-year rise in Phase 3 transactions pushed average deal sizes to three-year highs. China-based sellers accounted for nearly 50% of global licensing value with larger average deal sizes, while the U.S. led in volume. Absolute upfronts rose about 55% versus 2024. M&A rebounded to approximately $141B across 79 deals, increasingly focused on late-stage and approved assets. Major transactions including Novartis/Avidity, Pfizer/Metsera, and Merck/Cidara drove average deal sizes to multi-year highs. Capital Markets: U.S. public markets outperformed the broader market despite a largely closed IPO window. PIPEs and follow-ons surged, pushing public financings to a three-year high of about $16B, and the number of companies trading below cash fell nearly 60%. In Europe, financing value rose roughly 35% on strong Q4 activity, with investors favoring Phase 1 and Phase 2 programs. Outlook: A selective recovery is underway. Strategic dealmaking remains strong, capital markets are thawing, and high quality assets continue to attract capital, while APAC, especially China and Japan, plays an increasingly central role in global biopharma transactions.
