Diagnostics, orthopedics, and cardiovascular device companies are among those that wait until November to report their results for the quarter that ended at the end of September. Medtech Insight’s Earnings Winners & Losers highlights some of the companies that had news to celebrate, and a few that were disappointed with the quarter.

The dealmaking column is a survey of recent transactions, including strategic alliances, mergers & acquisitions, and financings, in the life sciences industries. Deals are listed by the following industry sectors: in vitro diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and research/analytical instrumentation and reagents. All transactions are excerpted from Windhover's Strategic Transactions Database, providing comprehensive transaction coverage from 1991 to the present.

Diagnostics & Drug Development; Cancer. Rational Therapeutics' ex vivo apoptotic assay,which measures cell death in culture, will help select appropriate drugs for individual cancer patients and aid in the cancer drug discovery process. The assay measures the ability of drugs, radiation, biological agents and combinations of all of the above, to induce cell death.

Cancer diagnostics has been a tough field for companies. But the need for good tests remains, and with new technologies being discovered, the opportunities still seem worth pursuing. Witness the deals signed in the field in the past half year. While none are large, they address either diagnostic companies' search for growth and high value, proprietary tests, or biotech companies' desire to foster basic research for pharmaceutical products or evaluate therapeutic impact on specific patients.