The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has issued draft guidelines for remedies for mergers and acquisitions, which the agency insists incorporates some regulatory flexibility. However, CMA said its approach is premised on the notion that any regulated transaction should have zero effect on competition in the affected industry, a premise that would seem to quash any transaction that leads to fewer companies in that industry.

Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. and Rani Therapeutics LLC have entered into a collaboration and global license agreement to develop and commercialize an oral product that encompasses Rani’s oral delivery technology, the Ranipill, and Chugai’s rare disease antibody in development.

Boston Scientific Corp. moved to acquire the balance of Nalu Medical Inc. in a $533 million cash deal, expanding its chronic pain portfolio with the addition of peripheral nerve stimulation. The Nalu neurostimulation system delivers mild electrical impulses to interrupt aberrant pain signals from nerves in the shoulder, knee and lower back before they reach the brain.

Med-tech M&A activity totaled $4.84 billion in September, down slightly from $7.29 billion in July but stronger than August’s $2.42 billion. Year-to-date disclosed deal value reached $37.21 billion, roughly on par with the $41.79 billion recorded during the same period in 2024. While still far below the highs of 2021 and 2022, when annual totals surpassed $100 billion, the 2025 data show that consolidation within the med-tech sector remains steady.

Merit Medical Systems Inc. looks to ingest Pentax Medical’s C2 cryoballoon through a $22 million asset purchase expected to close Nov. 1. The C2 treats Barrett’s esophagus, which can be a precursor to esophageal cancer, as well as gastric antral vascular ectasia syndrome. The deal includes a $19 million cash payment at closing and up to $3 million in contingent milestone payments.

ISS became the third proxy advisory firm to recommend shareholders vote against the proposed sale of Staar Surgical Co. to Alcon AG, joining Glass, Lewis & Co. LLC and Egan-Jones Ratings Co.

Breaking up isn’t so hard to do, it seems. Just two years after spinning off its consumer products as Kenvue Inc., Johnson & Johnson aims to part ways with its orthopedics unit, which will take up the Depuy Synthes name first created when Synthes Inc. married into the J&J Depuy ortho unit in 2012 for a tidy sum of $19.7 billion. Depuy was itself acquired in 1998.

Private equity firm Keensight Capital acquired a majority stake in Bedfont Scientific Ltd. in a move that will allow the company to expand the use of its devices for breath analysis and monitoring worldwide. Although the value of the deal was undisclosed, Keensight typically invests in profitable companies generating revenues in the range of €10 million to €400 million.

Histosonics Inc. signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Gunze Medical Ltd. to bring its novel histotripsy-based therapeutic model, the Edison System, to Japan. The strategic alliance with Gunze Medical, a wholly owned subsidiary of Osaka, Japan-based Gunze Ltd., paves a figurative runway for Histosonics to introduce its Edison platform in Japan — one of Asia’s largest medical device markets.

Ottobock SE & Co. KGaA got the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on its feet and dancing with Germany’s largest IPO in more than 18 months Oct. 9. The €808 million (US$934.23 million) gave the prosthetics company a market capitalization of €4.2 billion (US$4.88 billion), which rapidly rose as the share price shot up from €66 to €72 at the start of trading. The second med-tech to go public in October should have more company soon, with U.S. molecular diagnostics company Billiontoone Inc. filing Oct. 7 for an IPO with placeholder value of $100 million.