Q4 device financing reached $902 million versus Q3’s $734 million, while device M&A dollar volume increased $19 billion, from Q3’s $4.9 billion. Diagnostics companies raised $750 million, an 85% rise over the previous quarter’s $405 million; although diagnostics M&A totaled just $1 billion, it was the most deal-active quarter of 2014 with 11 transactions.

In a deal worth over $1 billion, Depomed got US rights to Janssen's pain drug Nucynta; Roche bought the majority stake in Foundation Medicine. FOPOs drove a large part of biopharma financing.

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, Pharmaceuticals, and Research/Analytical – and then categorized by type – Acquisition, Alliance, or Financing. This month’s column covers deals announced December 2014-January 2015.

BMS teamed up with F-start Alpha and also received an option to acquire; BD bought hospital care systems provider CareFusion for $11.8 billion. IPOs made up nearly a quarter of total dollars in both biopharma and device financing.