Four years following FDA approval, Lucentis remains the standard of care for the treatment of neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and has been widely adopted for off-label treatment of other retinal diseases. Companies are pursuing new drugs that may have more favorable dosing profiles, device-based technologies that may reduce the dosing frequency of Lucentis, and implantable drug delivery vehicles designed to deliver drugs to the back of the eye that may be applicable to a broad range of retinal therapies.

The 2009 meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology showcased the latest developments in cataract/refractive surgery, glaucoma, retina, and other ophthalmic subspecialties. The cataract/refractive surgery market has been under significant economic pressure recently due to a recessionary drop in elective ophthalmic procedures. However, evolving treatments for "back of the eye" conditions, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy, are making significant inroads toward improved patient outcomes for these common and devastating diseases and continue to energize the retina products market.

Medical device financing--primarily made up of late venture rounds--totaled just over $1 billion in Q3 2009, a 19% increase over the previous quarter. Acquisition dollars in the industry also surpassed $1 billion and included two $400 million-deals by Abbott. Most of the third quarter financing into in vitro diagnostics and research/analytical came from Qiagen's $628 million FOPO. And Agilent's $1.5 billion purchase of bioanalytical instrument maker Varian was the highest-value takeover.

Highlights from the Q3 2009 review of start-up dealmaking: Fundraising in the biopharma, medical device, and in vitro diagnostics industries totaled $520 million, a 40% decrease from the previous quarter and a 45% drop from Q3 2008. Of the total money raised in the current quarter, 64% or $333 million went to the biopharma companies. Compared with Q2 2009, device fundraising decreased by 76% (from $465 million to $113 million) but diagnostics companies raised significantly more--going from $23 million to $74 million. In contrast to the previous quarter, which saw only one acquisition, in Q3 2009 there were four involving start-ups, all of which are focusing on neurological disorders. On the alliance front, three companies--Oscient, NovaMed, and Ikaria Holdings--signed two deals each this quarter.