US life sciences deal activity was relatively muted in the first quarter of 2026. The regulatory environment created various tailwinds and headwinds, and dealmakers ultimately erred on the side of caution, resulting in one of the slowest quarters of dealmaking in the past five years. Despite such uncertainties, the most nascent life sciences startups remained resilient. Late-stage funding has continued to dominate life sciences dealmaking, but pre-seed/seed and earlystage companies have increased their share of VC deal volume to nearly 50% YTD.
Source: Dispatches from the Cain Brothers MedTech, Life Sciences and Pharma Services CEO Conference | Life Sciences Snapshot Q2 2026