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 Windhover's Strategic Transactions database, providing comprehensive transaction coverage from 1991 to the present.

BioVascular is a beneficiary of Merck KGAA's incubator program. launched to encourage start-up companies to develop Merck's shelved technologies. BioVascular gained rights to saratin, a protein originally isolated from leech saliva. Saratin's ability to reduce platelet adhesion and the complications that can arise from it give it a number of potential applications, but BioVascular's initial focus is on vascular surgery, specifically the prevention of intimal hyperplasia that leads to graft failure.