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 December 2017.

A review of biopharma start-up deal-making and financing activity from July through September 2017, based on data from Strategic Transactions, showed that fundraising declined 18% from the previous quarter, however the number of acquisitions doubled to eight.

Personalized medicine is focused on meeting patients’ needs, but it also has the potential to transform the delivery and financing of health care. In Vivo probes the path toward meeting both goals in an in-depth interview with Eleanor Perfetto, SVP for strategic initiatives at the National Health Council, the DC-based patient advocacy organization whose members include groups representing 133 million patients nationwide.

In the billion dollar market for radiotherapy products, pencil beam proton therapy could potentially revolutionize cancer care but the technology is very expensive, and it remains to be seen how many medical institutions in the US and worldwide will be interested in adopting the large systems, which require years to construct. Scripps Proton Therapy Center medical director Carl Rossi, MD, speaks about the benefits of proton therapy compared with other types of radiation therapy.