Financing a Danish Biotech company has apparently never been more challenging.
Based on feedback from partnering meetings in 2025 it seems that raising Series A financing has become an unprecedented challenge. However, when looking at the available data on the frequency and size of Series A rounds, the situation appears less concerning (green bars)!?
To understand the disconnect between what companies are experiencing and what the data suggests, Sunstone has joined forces with the DANISH BIO – DANSK BIOTEK to try and quantify the missing piece of the puzzle: the actual need for Series A financing (in Denmark).
While data on completed Series A rounds is relatively accessible, it does not necessarily reflect the demand for such financings.
Most biotech companies receive Seed funding before raising a Series A. In Denmark, 90% of Series A rounds occur within four years of the initial Seed investment. We therefore estimated the current demand for Series A funding by summing all companies that received Seed financing, then subtracting those that have already raised a Series A and those that have passed the four-year mark without doing so. The remaining group represents the companies that are likely currently seeking Series A funding.
Since 2018, the number of companies receiving seed financing – and subsequently seeking Series A – has been rising, peaking in 2023. It has since started to decline, but the ageing seed portfolio (represented by dark blue in the figure) now reflects the growing difficulty of securing Series A financing in Denmark.
As of third quarter 2025, half of all seed-financed companies are more than two years into their seed round and could be “running on fumes”!
Is Denmark about to lose most of the companies that were created in 2018-2019 and received subsequent Seed Financed in the years that followed? Is the struggle to find Series A financing the cause of the declining number of new Danish biotech companies?
What do you think, are you seeing similar trends in your country? Feel free to let us know in the comments!
If you’re trying to raise a Series A and finding it tough—you’re not alone. Unfortunately!