Pharma deal value falls in January 2026 amid lower M&A activity: GlobalData
Healthcare sector reports decline in deal value and venture funding
Deal activity in the pharmaceutical industry declined in January 2026, with total deal value falling by 73.9 per cent compared to January 2025.
In January 2026, the healthcare industry recorded 94 deals with a combined value of $7.7 billion. This compares with the previous 12-month average, from January 2025 to December 2025, of 84 deals valued at $21.9 billion.
The three largest transactions reported during the month included GSK Plc’s agreement to acquire RAPT Therapeutics Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, for an estimated aggregate equity value of $2.2 billion. Eli Lilly and Company announced the acquisition of Ventyx Biosciences Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing oral therapies for patients with inflammation-mediated diseases, for an aggregate equity value of approximately $1.2 billion. Amgen Inc. disclosed plans to acquire Dark Blue Therapeutics Ltd., a discovery and development biotechnology company focused on precision oncology medicines, for a total consideration of up to $840 million.
Venture capital funding in the healthcare industry also declined, decreasing by 10.9 per cent in January 2026 compared to the same month in the previous year.
During the month, the sector reported 127 venture capital deals valued at $4.2 billion. This compares with the 12-month average between January 2025 and December 2025 of 106 deals worth $2.8 billion.
The largest venture capital transactions in January 2026 included Parabilis Medicines, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, which raised $305 million in a Series F financing round to support ongoing clinical development of FOG-001 (zolucatetide) across multiple tumour types and to advance its pipeline and helicon platform. CORXEL Pharmaceuticals (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, raised $287 million in a Series D1 financing round to progress its cardiometabolic pipeline, including an oral small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist. Soley Therapeutics Inc. raised $200 million in a Series C round to advance oncology programmes into clinical development and expand its cell stress sensing platform.