As financial turmoil broke out around the world in the wake of the vote for Brexit, UK pharma majors GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca saw their stock rise. There's an uncertain outlook for the broader life sciences sector.

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 in May 2016.

Evidence is slowly building of the potential of high-throughput screening of individual patient tumors to test their sensitivity and response to hundreds of combinations of cancer drugs, first in leukemia and hopefully for treating other cancers.

Despite contraction in the number of funds and VC firms investing in life sciences, 2013 was a strong year for private investing in medtech, with private investors putting $2.54 million into 129 medical device deals, according to Informa’s Strategic Transactions. Looking at where investors placed their money revealed some emerging trends.