Device financing totaled $2.3bn for Q2 2019, with the debt category bringing in the most money. Merger and acquisition deals reached an aggregate $9.1bn (a 25% increase from Q1), thanks mostly to 3M’s  $6.7bn takeover of Acelity and its KCI subsidiaries. Diagnostics/research financing, which totaled $2.4bn, showed a significant rise from the previous quarter, while diagnostics/research tools M&A values, at $233m, exhibited a steep decline.

Celgene was involved in the two largest alliances of August: one to divest a product to satisfy regulatory conditions of its acquisition by Bristol-Myers Squibb and the other to develop adoptive cell therapies. There was continued acquisition activity in the CDMO market as Cambrex was bought out by investment firm Permira. Biopharma and device funding were both down.

Biopharma companies raised $12.4bn in Q2, largely from follow-on public offerings. In the latest mega-merger of the year, AbbVie spent $63bn on Allergan and its established portfolio. Many of the higher-valued alliances focused on the area of protein degradation.

Derived from Strategic Transactions, Informa’s premium source for tracking life sciences deal activity, the Dealmaking column is a survey of recent health care transactions listed by relevant industry segment – In Vitro Diagnostics, Medical Devices, and Pharmaceuticals – and then categorized by type – Acquisition, Alliance, or Financing. This month’s column covers deals announced August 2019.

Gilead continued its R&D relationship with Galapagos in a new, nearly $10bn alliance. Exact Sciences and Genomic Health merged in a $2.8bn agreement creating a leading global molecular diagnostics company. Pharma financing was down while device funding increased thanks to a strong showing in the debt category, including ResMed's $498m offering.

Derived from Strategic Transactions, Informa’s premium source for tracking life sciences deal activity, the Dealmaking column is a survey of recent health care transactions listed by relevant industry segment – In Vitro Diagnostics, Medical Devices, and Pharmaceuticals – and then categorized by type – Acquisition, Alliance, or Financing. This month’s column covers deals announced July 2019.