Gilead partners with Glympse to optimize NASH trials, while Ironwood will work with Pear on digital therapies for GI disorders. An alliance between Leo and Ubiquigent yields an option agreement around two novel compounds.

START-UP's monthly comprehensive review of emerging life science companies that have received venture funding during the month, including companies within the in vitro diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, research/analytical equipment & supplies, and medical device sectors.

Highlights from the Q1 2010 review of medical device and in vitro diagnostics/research dealmaking: Medical device financings raised $609 million, the lowest since 2009's opening quarter brought in $521 million. More than half of Q1's total dollars came from VC funding with late-stage rounds garning the most. The largest financing was Mindray Medical's $151 million follow-on offering. Seven private companies involved with biomaterials companies were heavy hitters, together accounting for 14% of Q1 2010's financing dollars. There wasn't much M&A activity with just 10 deals pulling in $1.4 billion, the lowest quarter since Q2 2009's $794 million take, however, four transactions did top the $100 million mark. Financing for the in vitro diagnostics/research segment was also disappointing: only $144 million was raised, less than half of what these industries pulled in during Q4 2009 and was way down from 2009's $522 million opening quarter. Conversely, M&A activity was up. Even without counting Merck KGAA's massive $7 billion-plus takeover of research tools company Millipore Corp., the aggregate of the quarter's seven other M&A's ($729 million) still well exceeded that of the closing quarter of 2009, thanks to multiple deals reaching $100 million or more.

Highlights from the Q1 2010 review of start-up dealmaking: Biopharma, medical device and in vitro diagnostics startups raised a total of $331 million, a 66% drop from the previous quarter's $976 million, and a 52% slide from Q1 2009. As was the case in Q4 2009, Series B rounds dominated in the biopharma and device sectors. Just one acquisition closed in the quarter - BioMarin buying LEAD Therapeutics - however two others are in the works. On the alliance front, SpePharm and Dicerna each signed two deals in Q1.