In the latest and most ambitious attempt to create a new global pharma with one foot in China and one in the West, Ascletis Inc. has launched with a hybrid drug development model that has attracted $100 million in committed funding.

In March 2010, Elsevier Business Intelligence convened a panel of venture capitalists and CEOs of devicestart-ups to discuss the climate for early and late stage funding. Their conclusion: there is money out there, if companies do the right things.

A recap of the first annual PharmAsia Summit, outlining current views on the opportunities and risks associated with investing in China.

Highlights from the Q3 2008 review of device and diagnostics dealmaking: Led by late-stage rounds, financing for medical device firms--at just over $1bn--showed a slight improvement over the last quarter. IPOs and follow-ons were noticeably absent in Q3, reminiscent of a time in 2003 when the IPO window closed. Not even one of the 13 device M&A transactions reached the billion-dollar mark, but the largest deal, GE Healthcare's buy of Vital Signs for $990mm, came close. In vitro diagnostics/research financings doubled to $643mm led by Illumina's $343mm FOPO. M&A activity in this industry was scant with a mere three transactions. However, Nanogen's reverse merger with Elitech Group--worth $99mm-beat the median M&A deal price ($60mm) over the past five years. Interestingly many in vitro diagnostics players turned to alliances with tech transfer entities in hopes of filling their pipelines.