Venture capital

With fresh billions unlocked in the 2026 U.S. budget and mission‑driven family offices recalibrating after a “nuclear winter,” early stage biotechs are rewriting their financing strategies around nondilutive capital and targeted private wealth.

Poplar Therapeutics is seeking a “step change” in the treatment of food allergy and other atopic conditions, with $95 million raised to date, including a $45 million series A extension that closed Tuesday.

Analysts are cautiously optimistic about an IPO rebound for biopharma. BioSpace is keeping track of companies that seek to trade on the public markets this year.

PitchBook’s 2025 biopharma VC analysis clocked $33.8 billion in capital dispatched in 2025, mainly to companies with later-stage programs ready to roll into the clinic.

A rapturous response to data published last year for Pelage’s hair loss candidate overwhelmed the biotech. Now, the company is ready to show the world the science behind the breakthrough.

Investor enthusiasm and evolving FDA pathways are accelerating rare disease drug development, with ultrarare conditions like MPS II moving into the spotlight.

After years of contraction, investors see biotech reentering a growth cycle driven by scientific progress, asset quality and renewed conviction in oncology, obesity and neuroscience innovation.

In this episode of Denatured, Jennifer C. Smith-Parker speaks with RTW’s Rod Wong and Stephanie Sirota how shifting JPM deal timing masks record M&A potential; why oncology, obesity, psychedelics, and neuroscience are attracting fresh capital; and how “alpha stacking” shapes their investment edge in an age of chronic uncertainty. They cover topics discussed in RTW’s new book, “Innovation is the Best Medicine.”

In this episode of Denatured, BioSpace editorial team members, Senior Editor, Annalee Armstrong, and News Editor, Dan Samorodnitsky, discuss their post-JPM takeaways and 2026 forecasts after speaking to a range of pharma and biotech executives and investors last week.

Fueled by advances in biomarkers, brain mapping, and AI, investment in neuro and CNS innovation shows no signs of slowing, even amid costly setbacks. BioSpace spoke to investors at JPM26 to get their take on recent bets in new therapies and neurotech.