Roche's $1.4 billion acquisition of Igen left Igen shareholders gleeful and some Roche observers a bit wary of the high price tag. But by ending protracted litigation between the two companies, the deal protects one of Roche Diagnostics' core franchises, the central laboratory business.

August is usually a quiet time for dealmaking, particularly in Europe. But not this year. Last month saw two important deals announced, Synthes-Stratec's $1.1 billion deal for Mathys Medical Ltd., and Swedish capital equipment supplier Geitinge bought Siemens Life Support Systems.

Aventis SA's oncology franchise is anchored by the blockbuster Taxotere. Sales of the drug comprise more than 8% of Aventis's core pharma business, and are currently growing more than 25% worldwide and in the US. Yet until recently, the firm had few other products with which to leverage its commercial infrastructure in oncology. It is therefore teaming up with ImmunoGen Inc. to create antibody-based oncology therapeutics using drug targets provided by both companies.