Five funds raised more than $1bn to back biotech firms; Arcus leads recent VC rounds with $107m GV-backed Series C; Celgene, Valeant sell notes to retire debt; and Alnylam cashes in on investor goodwill.

Biopharma financing for Q4 totaled $13.1 billion, a 35% increase over Q3, and again was dominated by follow-on public offerings. M&A reached a record $201 billion, topped by Pfizer's $160 billion buy of Allergan. Sanofi's $4.2 billion diabetes collaboration with Hanmi led the alliances.

BMS replaced and signed a new deal with Five Prime Therapeutics in immuno-oncology; there was more consolidation in the pharma services industry with Walgreens' $17.2 billion acquisition of Rite Aid. Biopharma financing in October was down from the previous month to $2.1 billion; device fundraising also decreased, to $468 million.

Derived from Strategic Transactions, Informa’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. This month’s column covers deals announced October 2015.