Derived from Strategic Transactions, Informa’s premium source for tracking life sciences deal activity, the Dealmaking 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 January through February 2014.

Aldagen, a small private US firm which has programmes underway for its adult stem cell technology, twice filed plans to go public, but ended up withdrawing its plans in 2008 and 2011. It has an early-stage candidate it believes can prove successful in a stroke trial, and has just agreed to be acquired by Cytomedix, a publicly traded Gaithersburg, Maryland-based company which has regenerative therapies for wound and tissue repair.

The Greek government is pushing forth with negative and positive drug lists as a way to cut public pharmaceutical expenditure from about €4.3 billion for 2010 to €3.4 billion in 2011. Public pharma expenditure has fallen already significantly from the €5.1 billion in 2009, where €850 million worth of savings were made in 2010, of which €500 million were the result of drug price cuts.

The US FDAis requiring 16 manufacturers of 24 branded and generic opioid medicines to jointly develop a classwide risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS) to reduce deaths and serious injuries resulting from misuse, abuse and overdose.