Recent executive-level company changes and promotions in the medical device and diagnostics industries.

A roundup of recent medtech strategic alliances, mergers & acquisitions and financings.

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 Elsevier's Strategic Transactions.

Highlights from the Q2 2009 review of medical device and in vitro diagnostics/research dealmaking: Financings by medical device companies jumped an impressive 62% over Q1 to $847 million--primarily from private VC rounds that contributed over 90% of the total deal volume with 52 early- and late-stage transactions--indicating a possible rebound in fundraising. Medical device M&As, on the other hand, proved to be a disappointment with only ten deals raising $794 million, most of which was Covidien's $470 million cash purchase of Vnus Medical. Although there were no big mergers, some device firms instead turned to the strategic alliance as a way to gain inexpensive products and technologies. On the in vitro diagnostics/research side, financing activity captured over three times the previous quarter's dollars through 12 deals totaling $302 million, however, almost 80% of that amount was from Beckman Coulter's $239 million FOPO. VC rounds only averaged $6 million apiece, with early- and late-stage rounds together bringing in $43 million. M&A in this industry segment was almost non-existent with only two transactions adding up to $358 million, a mere third of Q1 M&A deal volume.