A slow start to 2026 has put first-time biotech financings on course for their worst year since before the pandemic, reducing the already limited funding opportunities available for startups.

The data come from J.P. Morgan’s first-quarter biopharma licensing and venture report (PDF). Analysts tracked 50 seed and series A investments collectively worth $2.3 billion over the first three months of 2026. The data reverse the encouraging trend seen in the first quarter of 2025, when J.P. Morgan reported (PDF) that the number of investments rose to 60 and their combined value reached $3.7 billion. READ MORE