The Novo Nordisk Foundation has announced plans to invest approximately $850 million (5.5 billion Danish krone) in the life sciences sector across Denmark and Europe over the next decade. The funding, which will be distributed through the BioInnovation Institute, aims to support innovation in human health, planetary health, and societal resilience.
According to a statement released Thursday, the investment will help expand the BioInnovation Institute’s activities and increase its network of supported startups. The funds will also target projects in artificial intelligence and quantum science. The institute anticipates that this capital injection will attract additional investors, enhancing its ability to assist early-stage companies.
Recent recipients of grants from the BioInnovation Institute include Sulis Therapeutics—working on STING therapeutics—and TROYA Therapeutics, which focuses on protein engineering. Both companies are still in preclinical development.
The announcement comes at a time when early-stage biotech funding faces challenges elsewhere. In the United States, investor interest has shifted toward later-stage assets amid greater caution with new investments. According to J.P. Morgan, seed and series A financing rounds dropped from 228 in 2024 to 191 in 2025, with total investment declining from $10.6 billion to $8.7 billion during that period.
Public market activity reflects a similar trend; only eight biopharma initial public offerings occurred last year compared to 19 in 2024, as reported by BioSpace. “We are likely in/entering a more discerning IPO marketplace where drug innovators with proven, later-stage assets/programs will have the necessary support to go public,” Michael Rachlin, senior managing director of FTI Consulting’s Corporate Finance & Restructuring unit, told BioSpace earlier this month.
J.P. Morgan’s December 2025 report highlighted that companies successfully going public were generally further along in development stages.
This is reflected by recent IPO candidates such as Aktis Oncology and Veradermics—both late-stage developers—and Eikon Therapeutics whose leading product is currently undergoing mid-to-late stage trials while most other assets remain earlier stage.
