The Dealmaking column is a survey of recent transactions, including strategic alliances, mergers & acquisitions, and financings, in the life sciences industries. Deals are listed by the following industry sectors: in vitro diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and research/analytical instrumentation and reagents. All transactions are excerpted from Elsevier's Strategic Transactions database, providing comprehensive transaction coverage from 1991 to the present.

This Month's Profile Group: Breast Cancer Diagnostics: Start-Ups Look To Fill Gaps In The Patient Care Continuum, features profiles of Delphinus Medical Technologies, Ibris, NovaScan and Real Time Tomography. Plus these Start-Ups Across Health Care: NewGen Therapeutics, Ozics, PlantForm and PsiOxus.

NewGen Therapeutics Inc. aims to exploit weaknesses in the intellectual property protecting certain cancer drugs that already are blockbusters or that appear destined to be highly successful in coming years. The plan is to create functionally improved versions of valuable cancer drugs and develop them as treatments for specific subsets of patients likely to respond well.