Device financing totaled $2.3bn for Q2 2019, with the debt category bringing in the most money. Merger and acquisition deals reached an aggregate $9.1bn (a 25% increase from Q1), thanks mostly to 3M’s  $6.7bn takeover of Acelity and its KCI subsidiaries. Diagnostics/research financing, which totaled $2.4bn, showed a significant rise from the previous quarter, while diagnostics/research tools M&A values, at $233m, exhibited a steep decline.

Celgene was involved in the two largest alliances of August: one to divest a product to satisfy regulatory conditions of its acquisition by Bristol-Myers Squibb and the other to develop adoptive cell therapies. There was continued acquisition activity in the CDMO market as Cambrex was bought out by investment firm Permira. Biopharma and device funding were both down.

Novartis is developing a new type of immunosuppressive agent, an anti-CD40 monoclonal antibody, which might allow organ transplants to last longer in recipients, reducing the pressure on transplant waiting lists and improving the long-term outlook for patients.

Medtech companies traditionally resolved disputes over IP rights before national courts, but more and more of them are now turning to international arbitration to protect their IP rights. Dorothee Schramm, a partner at Sidley Austin specializing in international commercial disputes, explains the benefits of this growing trend and the pitfalls to avoid.

Biopharma companies raised $12.4bn in Q2, largely from follow-on public offerings. In the latest mega-merger of the year, AbbVie spent $63bn on Allergan and its established portfolio. Many of the higher-valued alliances focused on the area of protein degradation.

AstraZeneca emerged as big pharma’s most active dealmaker over the 2014-2018 period, thanks to a combined surge in both in-licensing and out-licensing agreements.