During the second quarter of 2011, 57 medical device companies brought in a total of $1.7 billion in financings. The M&A activity reached $28.8 billion, unusually high due to Johnson & Johnson's $21.7 billion takeover of orthopedic device maker Synthes. VC funding represented $76 million or 43% of the second quarter's in vitro diagnostics/research financing aggregate of $177 million. A hefty $4.1 billion was spent on 11 in vitro diagnostic/research M&A transactions, the largest being Thermo Fisher's $3.5 billion buy of Swedish genetics testing firm Phadia AB.

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 Elsevier's Strategic Transactions

Highlights from the Q1 2010 review of medical device and in vitro diagnostics/research dealmaking: With most of the funding in the form of venture rounds, medical device financing totaled $548 million in the second quarter, a 10% drop from Q1. Device acquisitions picked up, with 18 transactions completed for an aggregate $4.4 billion. Including GenMark's IPO, the first done in the sector since November 2007, in vitro diagnostic/research financing more than doubled Q1's dollar volume, reaching $364 million in the second quarter. The four IVD/Research acquisitions done in Q2 totalled $226 million.

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 Elsevier's Strategic Transactions database, providing comprehensive transaction coverage from 1991 to the present.