Dealmaking in the device industry is occasional and incremental when compared with the level of activity in pharmaceuticals, the result of that industry's maturing into a handful of dominant players, not all of which see acquisitions as strategically critical to their long-term success. The less-than-robust public market for small device companies is both symptom and cause of the device dealmaking lull. Because the markets they target are generally too small to sustain years of significant growth, few investors are willing to invest in them as stand-alone companies. And without long-term investor support, smaller firms have few options other than to sell out to large companies and little negotiating leverage when they do so.

Boston Scientific has agreed to pay $1.07bn to acquire Lumenis’ surgical laser business from Baring Private Equity Asia. See what Meghan Scanlon, president of Boston Scientific’s urology and pelvic health business, said about it here.

Agency’s unusual public statement about an investigational product's development status may be aimed at countering bullish comments from the sponsor; FDA cites failure of pivotal trial on the primary and secondary endpoints and ‘modest excess in deaths’ with the cell therapy.