JPMorgan’s Q1 2026 biopharma licensing and venture report shows dealmaking momentum alongside tighter risk tolerance, with licensing value rising even as venture funding for early-stage companies softened. The bank reported biopharma licensing partnerships reaching $82.7 billion in announced value during Q1 2026, while upfront cash accounted for only 6% of total deal value—indicating more milestone-heavy structures that push development risk to partners. M&A activity totaled $40.9 billion across 32 deals, including Merck’s $6.7 billion acquisition of Terns Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly’s $7.8 billion acquisition of Centessa (with $6.3 billion upfront). Meanwhile, biopharma venture funding fell to $6.9 billion in Q1 2026 from $8.6 billion in Q1 2025, reinforcing a gap between early and late-stage capital availability. The report frames licensing and larger transactions as carrying ecosystem liquidity while seed and Series A remain under pressure.