AlloVir/Baylor, Soligenix/Hawaii and CEL-SCI/Georgia ink coronavirus collaborations, but deal-making continues in other areas as well, including Asklepios/UNC teaming on a gene therapy for Angelman syndrome and DeMelle licensing a targeted pancreatic cancer drug from Moffitt, among others.

Partnership will test Mustang’s MB-101 with a second-generation oncolytic HSV-1 virus for potential in treating brain cancer. Canadian biotech launched by CCAB to fight the same cancer.

Vanderbilt launches new biotech with Deerfield aimed at reworking the drug development paradigm, while also expanding its cancer research work with BI. Grunenthal partners with Katholieke Universiteit Leuven to investigate ion channel modulation approaches in pain.

Robotically assisted surgical devices are one of the hottest and fastest growing segments in the market for minimally invasive surgery (MIS) products, with a global market opportunity projected to reach more than $10 billion by 2021. A growing number of competitors hope to capture share and further expand the market by targeting key procedures and geographies with next generation robotic surgery systems and robotic-like technologies designed to improve outcomes and enable more complex procedures to be performed via an MIS approach.