Can Europe finance and keep its biotech winners?

The first weeks of 2026 have marked a strong reopening of the US biotech IPO window. Within days, six life sciences IPOs priced successfully, alongside a direct listing and multiple follow-ons, collectively raising more than $1 billion despite broader market volatility. Notably, Agomab, a European company, chose to list directly on Nasdaq – reinforcing a clear long-term trend.

Over the past six years, 66 of 67 EU biotechnology companies that went public listed outside the European Union. The message from founders and investors is consistent: while Europe offers exceptional science and talent, it lacks the depth of capital and market infrastructure required to finance and scale companies competitively.

European life sciences venture capital represents just 7% of the global market, compared to 63% in the US. EU pension funds allocate approximately 0.02% of assets to venture capital, versus nearly 2% in the US. Fragmented capital markets and non-harmonized regulatory processes further complicate scaling companies locally.

A coalition for structural change

The European Life Sciences Coalition (ELSC), created in association with Invest Europe, brings together leading venture capital firms, research institutions, and ecosystem stakeholders managing more than €24 billion in assets and supporting over 1,400 companies.

The Coalition is not an investment vehicle. Its mission is systemic: to mobilize both private and public capital and remove structural barriers that limit Europe’s competitiveness.

In the near term, the ELSC is establishing a direct and constructive dialogue with institutional investors – including pension funds, insurers, and banks – to encourage greater allocations to life sciences venture capital. It is also engaging with EU policymakers to advocate for more integrated capital markets, improved regulatory conditions, and stronger research and clinical infrastructure.

Concrete proposals under discussion include encouraging minimum portfolio allocations toward life sciences VC to strengthen competitiveness, creating a simple and efficient European fund-of-funds investing across the biotech ecosystem, and advancing, with urgency, the development of a unified, less bureaucratic European capital market, including a dedicated stock exchange capable of supporting high-growth companies from IPO through scale.

From invention to retention

Success will be measured by tangible shifts in capital flows and ecosystem strength. Europe should not only invent breakthrough science; it must also finance, scale, and retain it.

If institutional allocations increase, capital markets deepen, and regulatory fragmentation is reduced, Europe can build a sustainable pipeline of life sciences champions. The objective is not to replicate the US model, but to create a European framework capable of matching its scientific excellence with competitive financing capacity. The current US IPO momentum underscores what is possible when capital, policy, and markets align. Europe has the science. The task now is ensuring it has the financing architecture to match.

About the author:

Cedric Moreau is a Partner in the Sofinnova Partners Crossover Strategy. He joined Sofinnova in June 2018 from Oddo BHF. Prior to this, he was Director at Bryan Garnier & Co, where he completed several sizable cross-border transactions, including Galapagos, DBV, Ablynx, and Celyad. In total, he has managed more than €2 billion in European healthcare transactions. He is also Chair of the Oversight Committee of the European Life Sciences Coalition, which launched in February 2026.

This article was originally published in European Biotechnology Magazine Spring 2026.