While med-tech dealmaking in the second quarter of 2020 increased by 27% from the first quarter and is in line with the values disclosed during the same period in 2019, M&A money for the industry has fallen significantly.

At about $35.6 billion raised by med-tech companies, the first half of 2020 has already pulled in more than the full-year totals for 2017 and 2018 and is at about 87% of what was raised in 2019. Most of the money is coming through private financings of public companies, including large notes offerings and private placements, as well as follow-on offerings.

While biopharmaceutical research is currently concentrating on the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the disease has provided a sharp reminder that our focus should not be lost on infectious diseases as a whole, along with the growing global problem of antibiotic resistance (AMR), which has the potential to dwarf COVID-19 in terms of deaths and economic costs, according to the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA).

In case you haven't heard, Tessera Therapeutics Inc. is working on techniques to write genes into the genome of patients. Tessera, which was developed in Flagship Pioneering Inc.'s Flagship Labs and became a stand-alone incorporated company two years ago, recently came out of stealth mode to highlight its Gene Writing platform based on mobile genetic elements, such as transposons and retrotransposons.