2025 was an inflection point. Will 2026 show the impact?

Another year is in the books when uncertainty topped the biotech word lists, but 2025 is ending with a bang, at least in follow-on financings, meaning it’s reasonable to spend the holiday season optimistic for capital markets as we head into 2026. There seem to be some turning points in play — the markets woke up mid-year, drug development offered some pivotal trends, and new leaders at FDA and NIH upended the status quo, marking a new era, regardless of how it unfolds.

Last year, this column asked: Does the president-elect mean it about tariffs? Will interest rates come down? Will there really be an overhaul at FDA and NIH, and what does that mean for drug development and innovation?...