The annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference includes presentations from many major medtech companies outlining their growth strategies and expectations for 2021. Here are some of the highlights from the third day of the meeting.

Having worked with the Cambridge, MA-based neurology specialist for five years on a treatment-resistant depression drug, Novartis has decided to buy all of Cadent in a deal that could be worth up to $770m.

As a freshman interested in neurobiology at Joseph Fourier University in Grenoble, Virginie Buggia-Prevot knocked on the lab door of an esteemed neurosurgeon and professor conducting research on deep brain stimulation. She was hooked; following a PhD in neurobiology and a post doc at the University of Chicago, Buggia-Prevot joined MD Anderson’s Neurodegeneration Consortium, managing strategic alliances and working on drug discovery. In November, she joined Valo as director of neurology discovery, an opportunity to bring new research in neurodegeneration to bear on patients’ lives.

Rather than hitting the acquisition trail, Biogen has taken the licensing route to expand its psychiatric and neurological disorders pipeline.