Top of the agenda for the medtech industry globally is when the “new normal” will return. In the UK, the expectations are that post-COVID-19 health care activity will increase gradually, but it is possible that the National Health Service will not reach its pre-coronavirus capacities until late in 2021, “if at all.”

Device financing totaled $1.4bn during the first quarter of 2020. Merger and acquisition activity reached $714.5m, with only two transactions hitting the six-figure mark. Financings by diagnostics/research players totaled $985m and just six companies were acquired, four of which together were valued at $11.6bn, most coming from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s $11.5bn buy of fellow public life sciences company Qiagen NV.

This month’s column covers deals announced in May 2020. Data provided by Biomedtracker. 

Another important step has been taken under the Healthy China initiative, with the implementation on June 1 of a basic law on access to health care. This provides additional tailwind for a health system that appeared to efficiently contain its coronavirus outbreak and is now making further structural improvements.

Repare Therapeutics and Bristol Myers Squibb announced a multi-target discovery collaboration potentially worth over $3bn. Alexion Pharmaceuticals entered into a definitive agreement to acquire fellow public biotech Portola Pharmaceuticals $1.44bn. An increase in both follow-on public offerings and PIPE financings boosted biopharma financing significantly from last month.

From digital marketing to payment systems, electronic solutions are aiding Indian pharma to ensure business continuity during the lockdown. New guidelines are spurring the adoption of telemedicine. Digital tools are connecting companies to their distribution chains and health care professionals. While some changes are here to stay, others might not stick.