Takeda is ramping up its presence in oncology, having signed a deal with antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) specialist Mersana Therapeutics via subsidiary Millennium Pharmaceuticals.

A decade ago, Medtronic shook up itself and the device industry with a series of large deals over a short period of time. In the process, the company tranformed itself from a leader in cardiac rhythm management into the industry's largest, most diversified device company. More recently, the company has been quieter, focusing on smaller deals, both acquisitions and minority investments. In But in this interview, Medtronic's head of Corporate Development, Bob White, says that Medtronic is ready to deal again and talks about the kinds of companies it's interested in.

Orthobiologics are now on the horizon, driving suppliers to increase R&D spending. The goal is to develop high-margin products that will actively promote bone formation. Has the slow progress to commercialization of the first two products--bone morphogenic proteins developed by the collaborations of Stryker Corp/Creative Biomolecules and Genetics Institute/Sofamor Danek--helped prime the market to accept a new technology? Or has the perception of delay dampened enthusiasm and scared off some of the big orthopedics players?

Biomaterials; Bone Repair. Millenium's product line consists of four major groups: an analytical kit for bone cell assays for research and clinical trials, a synthetic bone material for coating artificial joints or dental implants, a synthetic bone material that can be used as a stand-alone product or in conjunction with bone growth factors, and product which can be seeded with a patient's own bone or stem cells to grow autologous bone for grafts.