Resurging Funding Catapults APAC BIOTECH STARTUPS

Asia-Pacific's biotech startup scene is on the cusp of a renaissance. After a tough 2024 marked by shrinking venture capital, 2025 is showing revived investor enthusiasm and a rebound in funding- especially for oncology, gene therapy, and AI-driven drug discovery. With 9,905 life sciences startups now active across the region, APAC Countries are leveraging scientific innovation, government support, and new incubators to move beyond service roles and develop world-class therapeutic assets. Let's take a closer look at Asia's startup ecosystem, evolution of investor sentiment over the past few years, and buoying biotech areas.

- Ayesha Siddiqui

After riding the COVID-19 funding wave, APAC's biotech startup ecosystem faced a sharp correction. 2024 was the sector's harshest year since 2019, with global private equity and venture capital (VC) deal value and volume in biotech dropping to their lowest levels in five years, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Investors pulled back as post-pandemic euphoria gave way to tighter capital, macroeconomic uncertainty, and regulatory bottlenecks.

“In APAC, VC deal volumes fell by 18 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in the first half of 2024, while deal value plummeted by 27 per cent. Even biotech-heavy markets like China, Japan, and South Korea saw a decline of over 20 per cent in funding metrics compared to the previous year,” said Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData.

Yet, 2025 is already showing signs of cautious optimism. “The APAC venture capital funding activity in biotech, which witnessed consistent YoY decline through the first half of 2024, showcased a rebound in volume in H1 2025. Deal volume has risen by 14 per cent YoY in the first half of 2025, and total VC funding has crossed the $1 billion mark. While still short of the highs of 2021–2022, the recovery is being fuelled by a sharper focus: capital is flowing to areas investors view as scientifically promising and commercially viable,” said Bose.

In the first half of 2025, biotech funding in APAC has shown signs of revival, marked by a wave of significant investments across oncology, gene therapy, rare diseases, and AI-driven drug discovery. Precision medicine and cell therapies are also reshaping how companies design and personalise treatment approaches.