Avant View

AVANT VIEW Quarterly Report Q1 2025

The first quarter of 2025 started strong with promising signs of recovery in the life sciences sector, with most strategics reporting improved sales and order books. This aligned with the broader industry sentiment that 2025 would mark a return to growth after several challenging quarters. The bioprocessing and lab industries appear to be growing, though still below their long-term averages, with high single-digit growth for bioprocessing and mid-single-digit growth for lab equipment sectors. Companies like Sartorius have noted that their 2024 destocking process has largely concluded, with inventory levels for most customers now at or below pre-COVID levels.

However, policy uncertainties have created significant headwinds and further stalled a clear path to recovery. In response to these uncertainties, we’re seeing accelerated reshoring and investment in US manufacturing infrastructure across the life sciences sector. Eli Lilly’s announced $27 billion investment in new US manufacturing capacity is emblematic of this trend, with plans for four new facilities including three focused on producing active pharmaceutical ingredients typically imported from abroad. Novo Nordisk’s plans to potentially double Catalent’s size over the next five years further illustrates this strategic pivot toward domestic production, likely in anticipation of US policies under the current administration that emphasize local manufacturing.

Despite these challenges, investor interest in the cell and gene therapy space remains robust, with a 30% surge in investment compared to 2024. We’ve also noted an uptick in the number of investments in startups, largely driven by large deals, and increase M&A activity.

Notable Venture Capital Activity

The first quarter of 2025 saw several significant funding rounds in the life sciences sector, demonstrating continued investor confidence in select companies despite market uncertainties:

  • Isomorphic Labs: $580M late-stage round (March) – AI-driven drug discovery platform leveraging DeepMind’s technology to predict protein structures
  • Lila Sciences: $200M seed round (March) – Platform building scientific superintelligence leveraging autonomous labs
  • Tune Therapeutics: $182M Series B (January) – Epigenetic editing platform for precise gene regulation without DNA cutting
  • Enveda Biosciences: $150M Series C (February) – AI-powered natural product drug discovery company focused on metabolomics InSilico Medicine: $124M Series E (February) – AI-driven drug discovery platform with multiple clinical candidates

Avant View

Policy Trends Reshaping Biotech Investment 

As the U.S. administration rolls out a wave of policy changes, the biotech and life science sectors are encountering both material challenges and strategic openings. Key developments across regulation, trade, and federal funding are reshaping how capital is deployed and where innovation will emerge next. 

Key Headwinds 

  • NIH Funding Cuts: Proposed reductions to NIH budgets threaten early-stage innovation. NIH-backed research supported over 400,000 jobs and generated $94B in economic activity in 2024. Cuts could slow the flow of investable spinouts and grant-backed ventures. 
  • Tariffs & Supply Chain Pressure: Newly imposed tariffs on biotech inputs and equipment are increasing costs across the board – from CDMOs to technology suppliers. This disproportionately affects startups with limited supply chain leverage or runway flexibility. 
  • FDA Staff Reductions: Planned FDA cut, up to 3,500 positions, may result in slower reviews and less regulatory guidance, particularly harmful to small companies navigating clinical milestones.
  • Biosecure Act Fallout: Restrictions on partnering with certain foreign vendors could reshape the CRO/CDMO landscape. Domestic providers may benefit, but startups could face delays and rising compliance costs. 

Emerging Tailwinds

  • Streamlined Regulatory Channels: Efforts to deregulate emerging therapeutic areas (e.g., stem cell therapy) may shorten time to market for platform innovators. 
  • U.S. Biomanufacturing Momentum: Onshoring initiatives and growing demand for domestic capacity are creating investment opportunities in modular manufacturing, digital infrastructure, and enabling technologies.
  • Drug Pricing Reform: Heightened pricing scrutiny is elevating demand for cost-efficient therapies, generics, biosimilars, and outcome-driven delivery platforms. 

As policy dynamics continue to evolve, the life sciences sector faces a period of recalibration. Shifting federal priorities are reshaping the innovation pipeline, regulatory landscape, and global cost structures, creating both pressure points and emerging avenues for growth.

For investors, this environment favors selective, thesis-driven capital deployment, with an emphasis on technologies and teams built for resilience, efficiency, and long-term value creation.

For founders, this is a time to prioritize strategic clarity and operational agility. Aligning with market realities, whether through platform flexibility, domestic supply chain strategies, or data-backed economics will be critical to sustaining momentum and earning investor confidence in a shifting policy environment.

Top Headlines

Thermo Fisher Acquires Solventum’s Filtration Unit in $4.1B Strategic Move

Thermo Fisher Scientific’s $4.1 billion acquisition of Solventum’s Purification & Filtration business significantly enhances its bioprocessing capabilities by integrating advanced filtration technologies, thereby strengthening its position in the biologics manufacturing value chain. This move underscores the strategic value and growth potential of companies offering specialized biomanufacturing solutions, highlighting opportunities for investment in innovative technologies that complement existing bioproduction processes.​

Taiho Pharmaceutical Buys ADC Partner Araris for up to $1.1B Total

Taiho Pharmaceutical’s acquisition of Araris Biotech for up to $1.14 billion underscores the escalating strategic importance of next-generation antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) in oncology. Araris’s proprietary AraLinQ™ platform enables efficient, site-specific conjugation of multiple payloads to antibodies, enhancing the efficacy and safety of ADCs . This deal highlights the significant value creation potential in innovative solutions that address critical challenges in targeted cancer therapies.

AstraZeneca to Acquire EsoBiotec to advance cell therapy ambition in an Initial Payment of $425m AstraZeneca’s acquisition of EsoBiotec for up to $1 billion underscores the growing strategic importance of cell therapy platforms that can streamline treatment delivery and expand patient access. This deal highlights the significant investment potential in next-generation cell therapy technologies that promise scalability, reduced manufacturing complexities

In the News

Eli Lilly and Andreessen Horowitz Launch $500M Biotech Fund to Power Next-Gen Therapeutics

Illumina and NVIDIA collaborate to Decode Biology and Propel Precision Health

Novo Holdings to Double Catalent’s Footprint in U.S. Manufacturing Push Link

Samsung Biologics Secures Record USD 1.4 Billion Contract with European Client Link

Sartorius Predicts 2025 Rebound in Biotech Demand and Market Growth Link

PathPresenter and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center partner to integrate AI algorithm into its digital pathology platform. Link

Lilly Commits $27B to Expand U.S. Manufacturing with Four New Plants

Thermo Fisher Acquires Solventum’s Filtration Unit in $4.1B Strategic Move

Pfizer could shift overseas production to US if Trump’s pharma tariffs take hold, CEO says

Cell and Gene Therapy Investment Jumps 30%, Defying Market Headwinds