Taysha gains control of GAN candidate and program; BI licenses COMT inhibitors from Lieber Institute; plus three new gene therapy-driven tie-ups between biopharma and academia.

A snapshot of global medical device and diagnostics approvals recorded during the past week in Medtech Insight's Approvals Tracker.

Derived from Strategic Transactions, Informa’s premium source for tracking life sciences deal activity, the Deal-making 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 in April 2017.

Among the medtech companies who have released their first-quarter 2017 sales and earnings, Johnson & Johnson and Merit Medical Systems reported progress in their long-term plans to reshape their medical device businesses, while Abbott and Zimmer Biomet received some bad news in the quarter. Smith & Nephew shows signs of a turnaround, and perennial "winner" Edwards Lifesciences provided updates on some important developments in their flagship transcatheter valve business.