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, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, 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.

With two major exits and a third pending, the traditionally high-tech-heavy investor's new strategy is paying off. Safeguard's lower appetite for risk in the life sciences means focusing on companies with existing or near-term revenues, cash flow, and net worth being built up, rather than dependence on a regulatory or clinical milestone as an inflection point. The firm also boasts an ability to bolster the management and operational capabilities of its young companies.

A preview of the emerging health care companies profiled in the current issue of Start-Up. This month's profile group, Transdermal Drug Delivery: More Than Skin Deep, features profiles of AllTranz, Ocelus, Quinnova and Syntropharma. Plus these Start-Ups Across Health Care: Apnex Medical, Cellular Dynamics, Helix Therapeutics, Presym and Vatrix Medical.

Start-ups continue to seize opportunities for delivering new and existing drugs transdermally. They are also poised to capitalize on next-generation technologies for delivering macromolecules through the skin. In this issue, we profile AllTranz, Ocelus, Quinnova Pharmaceuticals and Syntropharma.