Merck China R&D head leaving after overseeing several high-profile drug approvals, while Novo Nordisk China's marketing head will lead the firm's operations in Oceania.

Pulse Biosciences' nano-pulse technology, PulseTx, precisely targets and kills cells with short electrical pulses that induce cell death and induce an immunogenic response. The company has submitted a 510(k) application to the US FDA for the technology, seeking a broad soft-tissue ablation indication, but it is developing PulseTx for immunoncology and dermatology indication.

Medtech companies brought in $1.5 billion in Q2 2016, 15% less than Q1, with debt offerings accounting for more than half the total; acquisitions more than doubled due to Abbott's $25 billion takeover of St. Jude Medical. Diagnostics financings were down 34% from Q1 and acquisition volume, also lower, was mainly Thermo Fisher Scientific's $4.2 billion buy of FEI.

After a lackluster first quarter, the medtech IPO scene is gradually livening up with several companies their shares successfully floated on the public markets for the first time in the second quarter. But activity levels are still a far cry from the bonanza of 2015.