Similar to Q1’s deal dollars and volume, device companies raised $1.06 billion through 45 transactions; Bayer HealthCare’s $1 billion purchase of Conceptus was the only device M&A in Q2 to exceed the billion-dollar mark. Diagnostics players raised a total of $2.9 billion during the second quarter, a huge increase over Q1 due to Thermo Fisher Scientific’s $2.46 billion follow-on offering to support its $15.2 billion April acquisition of Life Technology, another Q2 outlier in the M&A category.

Derived from Strategic Transactions, Elsevier Business Intelligence’s premium source for tracking life sciences deal activity, the Medical Device Deals Update column is a survey of recent medtech M&A, Alliance, and Financing activity.

Derived from Strategic Transactions, Elsevier Business Intelligence’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.

In this era of health care reform, critical care medicine remains a strong market for innovative technologies that can improve patient outcomes, shorten ICU stays, and ultimately reduce the overall cost of care. Within this space, one segment that is ripe for innovation is the market for severe sepsis products.Although the last 20 years have seen advances in treatment and a marked increase in the understanding of sepsis and septic shock, severe sepsis remains one of the most significant challenges in critical care today.