With $5.7 billion hostile takeover attempt for next-generation gene sequencing powerhouse Illumina, Roche says it is uniquely situated to push sequencing into the routine clinical diagnostics space. But Illumina is resisting, which could push up the price and draw out the process.

Political worries aside, industry is confidently executing on focused strategies as it welcomes a new decade, even if a lack of deal news at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference didn't excite investors.

FDA has little in the way of good information it can list on its CBD policy agenda so far, says Principal Deputy Commissioner Amy Abernethy. At recent regulatory conference, she said, "Like it or not, there is a massive human experiment going on right now. There’s CBD in most different product categories and people of many different backgrounds with potential vulnerabilities taking CBD."