Key highlights from September:

• Biotech saw green shoots in September, with indices posting modest gains across the board. Micro-caps (<$500 mm) led the recovery, extending their trend of outperforming larger peers, while small- and mid-caps also delivered positive returns
• Licensing and M&A activity held steady in September, with 6 M&A and 18 licensing transactions versus 7 M&A and 18 licensing deals in August, but average deal value moved notably higher. Four multi-billion-dollar acquisitions of publicly traded, late-stage biotechs – each carrying substantial premiums – signal renewed confidence in the sector and early signs of a broader recovery in biotech M&A markets
• Nine high-value licensing deals exceeded $1bn, focusing on assets ranging from preclinical to commercialized
• IPO markets remained slow, with Phase 2 neuropsych-focused biotech LB Pharmaceuticals pricing their IPO early in the month at an offer price of $15.00 per share, at the center of its range; the company raised $285mm in gross proceeds and is trading up 12.8% since IPO
• Follow-on activity remained robust, with 22 priced offerings raising $3.7 bn, up sharply from $841 mm in August and led by Avidity’s $600 mm raise
• Pfizer announced a first-of-its-kind agreement with the White House to provide Medicaid drugs at most-favored-nation prices in exchange for a three-year pharmaceutical tariff grace period. The deal also includes plans to offer discounted products directly through TrumpRX.gov, a new federally operated consumer platform