Biotech Financing: weak start, strong finish

Berlin (January 8th 2026) - Equity financing for the German biotechnology industry in 2025 was significantly better than expected based on the figures for the first half of the year (H1: €337 million), at €1.787 billion. Nevertheless, the total amount is around 7 percent less than the previous year (2024: €1.917 billion). At €593 million, 34 percent less venture capital was raised by private companies than in 2024 (€898 million). Listed companies raised €1.194 billion, an increase of 20 percent compared to 2024 (€999 million). No company has newly ventured onto the stock market. Around 55 percent of the total amount is attributable to Tubulis GmbH (€344 million) and QIAGEN N.V. (€642 million). This is according to a survey conducted by the biotechnology industry association BIO Deutschland e. V. in cooperation with EY.

Roland Sackers, CEO of BIO Deutschland, comments: "Despite a difficult financing environment and challenging geopolitical conditions, our industry has once again succeeded in raising more than €1.7 billion. This is a positive sign. This is also because we saw a relatively large number of seed rounds in 2025. Unfortunately, however, growth financing was weaker. With the exception of Tubulis’ record-breaking Series C financing of more than €344 million, only a limited number of funding rounds were completed, all of which were in the double-digit range. This makes it all the more important now to swiftly implement the plans of the EU and the German government for large growth funds. Biotechnology is a key technology, and we are a key industry for innovation, highly skilled jobs, and prosperity in Europe."

Viola Bronsema, Managing Director of BIO Deutschland, adds: "This is a very positive development. Nevertheless, the framework conditions for financing innovation urgently need to be improved if we want to achieve technological sovereignty in biotechnology in Germany and the EU. Biotechnology companies in the UK and Switzerland were able to attract significantly more venture capital in the first three quarters than in Germany in the whole year. US biotech companies raised over €14 billion in venture capital in the first nine months. In addition to private capital, speed is another critical factor. The High-Tech Agenda Deutschland, the EU's Scale-up Fund, and many other outlined and planned measures, particularly those aimed at reducing bureaucracy, must now be implemented swiftly so that our industry can continue to compete internationally."

Klaus Ort, partner at EY and head of the Life Sciences & Healthcare market segment, says: "Biotechnology in Germany is not a niche topic – it is an untapped growth engine. Those who do not invest today may find themselves buying back our own science from abroad at a high price tomorrow. In the past, promising companies and technologies have had to be sold to US investors or US companies due to a lack of financing. Biotech should be considered one of the future growth drivers for gross national product. Measured against this, only about a quarter to just under half as much venture capital is invested in biotech companies in Germany compared to the USA, the UK, and Switzerland. At the same time, Germany is at the forefront when it comes to taxing the profits of corporations. Improving tax conditions in the capital sector would therefore be an additional conditio sine qua non."

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About BIO Deutschland:

BIO Deutschland e. V. is an independent biotechnology organization. The association represents the interests of its members at national, European, and global level. Biotechnology translates biology into industrial applications. It has already demonstrated widely visible benefits in medicine, for example. Innovative bio-based economic systems can enable Germany and Europe to achieve long-term sovereignty and prosperity. The association's network is interdisciplinary and unique. Its members conduct research, development, production, and marketing on a global scale. BIO Deutschland is a strong community. It is committed to diversity, openness, and equal opportunities, and is dedicated to the free democratic basic order. Roland Sackers is the Chairman of the Board of BIO Deutschland.

Further information is available at; www.biodeutschland.org

BIO Deutschland's supporting members and industry partners are:

AGC Biologics, Avia, Baker Tilly, Bayer, BioSpring, Boehringer Ingelheim, BüchnerBarella, Citeline, CMS Hasche Sigle, Deutsche Bank, Ernst & Young, Evotec, IDT Biologika, ITM, KPMG, Miltenyi Biotec, Novartis, PricewaterhouseCoopers, QIAGEN, Rentschler Biopharma, Roche Diagnostics, Sanofi Aventis Deutschland, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, ZETA.

Contact:

BIO Deutschland e. V.
Dr. Claudia Englbrecht
Schützenstraße 6a
10117 Berlin
Tel.: +49 30 2332 164-32
Mobile: +49 151 14067326
E-Mail: englbrecht@biodeutschland.org

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