So there I was doing some internet research and reading about the biotech industry. I make it a point to read FierceBiotech, Pharma and CRO weekly. This article from Fierce Biotech by Will Maddox caught my attention.
‘It’s certainly not easy’: How are Boston biotechs coping with a shallower pool of seed funding?
We in the drug development industry have been lamenting the slowness of the past 5-6 years.
Each year in February, after reading the tea leaves of JP Morgan’s January meetings in San Francisco, we try to convince ourselves this year would be better. After saying it yearly for the past 5 years, this year, 2026 really felt different. Or at least we were more assertive in our optimism as if we could will it to be better. While it genuinely does appear to be better, we see money coming in, projects getting started or committed by the actual start up work keeps getting held up. We get it – the market doesn’t like uncertainty and boy howdy do we have that going on everywhere. But new and more effective treatments still need to get developed.
Generally speaking there is optimism that this is a better year. Then I saw this article with data that suggests otherwise. This is based on the Boston biotech hub where funding for early startups has been key in supporting the life sciences industry. Average seed funding secured by a preclinical start-up plunged 40% over the past year. It is reported that the average seed round for a Massachusetts-based biotech in the first six months of 2026 was just $4.65 million, down from $7.65 million for the same period in 2025, according to the most recent industry snapshot from trade group MassBio.
This isn’t just happening in Boston. JP Morgan’s first half report for 2026 followed 114 seed and series A investments that amounted to $4.8 billion, the lowest amount raised over the past five years and less than half of the $11.1 billion seen across 242 deals in the first half of 2025.
I think because of the uncertainties (interest rates, inflation, wars, elections and their outcomes, price of fuel, etc) investors look to companies with solid proof of concepts, less risky development paths and a more predictable short term benefit.
So, we’d better tighten our belts and hold on – the ride continues to look bumpy.
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