Smaller biotech companies with drugs still in clinical trials are what big pharma is trying to buy, with acquisition offers coming in above 60% to 120% of the stock prices, even though companies don’t have drugs on the shelves. For investors who held shares in those acquired companies, that has meant seeing their stock jump by more than half overnight. There is no guarantee future deals will look the same, but the pace of acquisitions in 2025 suggests large pharma's appetite for biotech pipelines is not slowing down.
Longevity investment: Where science and capital are going
Longevity is an investment category forming around the science of aging, and private capital, research, and the FDA are moving quickly.
- Private investment in longevity science more than doubled in a single year. Global investment in longevity science reached $8.49 billion across 325 deals in 2024, up from $3.82 billion in 2023.
- GLP-1 drugs are expanding from weight loss into longevity territory. GLP-1s are a class of drugs that includes semaglutide, sold as Wegovy and Ozempic, and tirzepatide, sold as Zepbound and Mounjaro. Originally approved for diabetes and obesity, they have since received FDA approval for cardiovascular risk reduction, obstructive sleep apnea, fatty liver disease, and oral obesity treatment. A Swiss Re model estimates that GLP-1 drugs could reduce all-cause U.S. mortality by 6.4% by 2045, making it the first drug class with implications at that scale. The GLP-1 market alone is projected to grow from $55 billion today to $150 billion by 2030.
- The FDA formally recognized lifespan extension as a valid clinical goal for the first time. In February 2025, Loyal's LOY-002, a drug for aging dogs, became the first treatment to clear that regulatory bar, marking a milestone for the longevity field's credibility with regulators.
The drugs making some of the most money in biotech right now, like GLP-1s, cancer immunotherapies, and gene medicines, are the same ones showing early signs of potentially extending healthy life. Longevity investing used to mean putting capital behind unproven science. Increasingly, it means owning companies that are already generating revenue, like Novo Nordisk (NVO -0.95%), whose GLP-1 drug Wegovy is already one of the best-selling drugs in the world, according to industry publication Drug Discovery and Development.
What investors tracking biotech and longevity should watch
Biotech stocks enter 2026 with real momentum. The industry is still recovering from a brutal three-year run leading into 2025, big pharma is paying a significant premium to acquire pipeline companies, which are companies with drugs under development, and the FDA is approving new drugs at near-record rates. The sector is grappling with patent expirations as longevity science is gaining traction.
Demographics create a demand floor that isn’t a forecast – the population data is set and is difficult to ignore. Adults 65 and older represent 17% of the U.S. population but make up 37% of all healthcare spending. Individuals aged both 60+ and 80+ will make up a growing share of the global population in the coming decades. That means each passing year brings a larger, older cohort of patients who need treatment for chronic conditions that affect 95% of adults over 60 as well as greater demand for longevity drugs.
