PERTH, Australia – Australian health technology company Planet Innovation is expanding its footprint into the U.S. with the acquisition of the North American operations of Germany’s medical device manufacturer BIT Analytical Instruments GmbH.

PERTH, Australia – Medical device and analytics company Trajan Group Holdings Ltd. has acquired the business and manufacturing facilities of Axel Semrau GmbH & Co., based in Sprockhövel, Germany, for AU$26 million (US$18.7 million), expanding the company’s global operations. Axel Semrau develops and manufactures laboratory automation and chromatography software and detection systems. The acquisition is the company’s most significant to date and broadens the company’s manufacturing base in Europe, Trajan founder and CEO Stephen Tomisich told BioWorld.

PARIS – Bone 3D SAS has signed a partnership with Stratasys Ltd. to put 3D printing technology directly into the hands of all 3,000 French hospitals and their front-line medical professionals. This new service, called Hospifactory, makes it possible to leverage additive manufacturing to produce medical equipment and devices directly on site at the hospital.

A research report by global investment bank Jefferies has found increased investor optimism in the health care market amid COVID-19, with respondents expecting stocks to rise throughout 2022. The Jefferies Healthcare Temperature Check summarizes the views of 500 leaders across the health care sector. Sixty percent of respondents said they believed the MSCI World Health Care Index would be higher by the end of 2022 than at present.

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) will spin off its consumer health division as a stand-alone public company, leaving J&J to focus on its pharmaceutical and medical device businesses.

Without a doubt, 2021 has been a strong year for med-tech M&As, which are valued at significantly more than each of the three prior years. The industry has completed 520 M&As worth $111.7 billion so far, which is 88% more than the next highest year, 2019’s $59.48 billion. The volume is 33% more than the 391 M&As completed in 2020. In addition to completed M&As, a total of 1,376 med-tech deals, including licensings, collaborations and joint ventures, have been completed. They are valued at $1.98 billion, with only 31 deals including financial terms. The number of med-tech deals this year are only slightly below the 1,400 completed by the end of the year in 2020.

With its agreement to buy Atos Medical Inc., Coloplast A/S is consolidating its position as a global leader in the chronic care market. Founded in Sweden in 1986, Atos Medical is the largest player for laryngectomy devices, holding a market share of more than 80%. It’s a bold move from the Humlebaek, Denmark-based company as it offers to pay $2.5 billion to acquire the Nottingham, U.K-based company from private equity firm Pai Partners.

General Electric Co. reported that it was dividing the company into three “well capitalized investment-grade companies with seasoned leadership teams.” The division of the huge conglomerate will start with the tax-free spin-off of GE Healthcare Ltd. in early 2023 and the renewable energy and power business in 2024 leaving the legacy GE as an aviation-focused enterprise. The company will take a one-time hit of $2 billion in connection with the split up.

Alcon AG plans to acquire Ivantis Inc. for $475 million at closing, regaining a significant position in the lucrative minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) space through the addition of the Hydrus microstent device to its ophthalmology portfolio. In addition to the up-front payment, the deal includes additional unspecified contingent payments dependent on achievement of certain milestones. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022.

Trendlines Group Ltd. reported the acquisition of its portfolio company Orthospin Ltd. by Synthes GmbH, a division of Depuy Synthes, the orthopedics company of Johnson & Johnson (J&J), for $79.5 million in cash. Johnson & Johnson’s involvement in the company goes back to July 2018, when J&J Innovation (JJDC) led the company’s series A round.