Biopharma financing dropped in Q3 2011 to $1.3 billion, down from $6.3 billion in Q2. There were 20 M&A deals that totaled $30.9 billion, attributed mainly to the $27.7 million merger of PBMs Express Scripts and Medco. Almost a quarter of the alliances penned were for preclinical assets.

Start-Up's monthly comprehensive review of emerging life science companies that have received venture funding during the month, including companies in the pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostic and research instrumentation and reagent sectors.