The numbers of medical device approvals were up in most regions outside the US and the biggest surge, by percentage, was in approvals from emerging markets and the so-called BRIC countries. It remains to be seen if the trend will continue in 2018, but many companies are already counting on important non-US approvals coming in the next year.

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.

Edwards Lifesciences exercised a 2015 option to buy Harpoon, a spin-off from the University of Maryland's School of Medicine, for $100m up-front and up to $150m more in milestones, to add Harpoon's beating-heart mitral valve surgery technology to its growing pipeline of transcatheter and surgical mitral valve repair and replacement devices. The deal also validates the investing approach of Epidarex Capital, one of Harpoon's early investors, which looks for early-stage medtech opportunities in the Mid-Atlantic states.

Now providing seed and venture funding for some of its start-ups, University of Maryland's tech transfer has expanded its capabilities in recent years. Plus, our monthly roundup of private/public-sector transactions.