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.

Traditionally, the spinal market has been separate from the rest of the orthopedic device industry. However, with managed care squeezing the profits out of the industry's cash cows, hip and knee implants, some orthopedic companies are looking anatomically upward. Spinal companies, armed with new technologies, are creating the fastest growing sector of orthopedics. Driving this growth is a new type of spinal device called interbody fusion cages. However, some in the industry believe cages won't fulfill their initial promise.