Altaris has agreed to pay about $1.1bn for imaging-technology developer Analogic in a deal that will move Analogic to private ownership.

Device financing dropped more than 40% to $714 million in Q1; Smith & Nephew’s $1.7 billion acquisition of ArthroCare overshadowed acquisitions. Diagnostics companies raised $568 million, a 34% increase over 2013’s final quarter; nonprofits provided assets to diagnostics firms in multiple licensing arrangements.

Genzyme made a significant investment in RNA interference in a new deal with Alnylam; J&J sold Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics to Carlyle Group for just over $4 billion; biopharma financing reached $2.8 billion in January, more than doubling December’s total; and device companies only raised money privately only in January, mostly from late-stage venture rounds.

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.