European biotech leaders say optimism is returning

A survey of senior figures in European biopharma companies has found that dealmaking and M&A are expected to increase, with some suggesting that this will be helped by policy uncertainties in the US.

The inaugural BIO-Europe C-Suite Survey – published ahead of its annual meeting in Cologne, Germany, next month – found that three-quarters of the 81 biopharma leaders included in the poll expect partnering and M&A appetite to increase over the next 12 months, with none predicting a decline.

More than half (52%) said US policy uncertainty – which could include the sweeping changes at the FDA, reducing public funding for R&D, and tariff-setting – has made Europe more attractive to build and partner in.

On the other hand, they acknowledge that the US and China are still comfortably in the lead as expected sources of partnerships, according to the respondents, and Europe continues to be held back by investor risk aversion – although 69% think the situation on financing is starting to improve.

"What emerges is not a simple story of recovery or retrenchment," said Claire Macht, senior portfolio director at Informa Connect, which runs the BIO-Europe event. "There is clearly renewed appetite to partner and do deals, but capital availability and investor risk tolerance are still dictating what companies can actually execute.

"At the same time, leaders are reassessing where innovation will come from and how Europe competes in a global landscape increasingly shaped by US policy uncertainty and China’s accelerating pace of innovation," she added.

The picture is one of returning optimism, with industry leaders increasingly focusing not only on scientific achievements, but also on the execution, partnerships, and strategies needed to build a durable and investable business, according to Macht.

Among other findings are that oncology and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are currently out in front among expected partnering and investment interest for 2026–27, followed by immunology and inflammation, cardiometabolic disease beyond GLP-1, and neuroscience.

Healthy ageing, mental health, and women’s health are seen as the leading underinvested commercial opportunities, according to the report.

Meanwhile, the greatest impact to date of AI is reported to be in back-office and operational functions, followed by target identification and drug discovery, and nearly a quarter (22%) of the leaders think its impact has been overstated.

There's quite a lot of optimism about the future impact of AI on the industry, however, with 57% of those surveyed expecting it to improve R&D productivity, and 33% predicting it will unlock faster clinical development over the next one to two years.