Consolidation in diagnostics continues apace, with Diasorin SpA set to take over Luminex Corp. in an all-cash deal that values the multiplex diagnostics and molecular testing specialist at $1.8 billion. At $37 per share, the price is a 23% premium to the Luminex (NASDAQ:LMNX) share price on Feb. 23, which is when rumors of the acquisition began to circulate, and 12% above the close last Friday, April 8.

Microsoft Corp. will purchase Nuance Communications Inc. for $19.7 billion in cash in a move that demonstrates a massive commitment to building out the Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare reported in late 2020. The acquisition, which is expected to close by the end of 2021, doubles the Redmond, Wash.-based company’s total addressable market in the health care provider space, bringing it to nearly $500 billion. The size of the transaction is notable even for a company with the active acquisition history of Microsoft.

While strong financial markets could create merger and acquisition headwinds for med tech, the volume of both M&As and deals are rising above each of the prior three years, indicating a growing industry interest that is not always clear in the financials.

The FDA has its hands full with the impact of the mutations to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but test developers can count on an ever-increasing base of data for those viruses thanks to a new contract taken by the CDC. The CDC indicated recently that its sequencing efforts and that of other organizations churned out nearly 14,000 sequences for the week of April 3, but Aegis Sciences Corp., of Nashville, Tenn., announced April 7 that it had undertaken an agreement to perform next-generation sequencing of samples from all 50 states and Puerto Rico, ensuring plenty of access to up-to-date information on those mutations.

Hologic Inc. is tucking in yet another diagnostics manufacturer, this time with the acquisition of Mobidiag Oy for approximately $795 million. The privately held Finnish-French company develops and markets polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based tests for acute care testing such as gastrointestinal and respiratory infections, antimicrobial resistance management and health care-associated infections.

Pixium Vision SA reported that its merger with Second Sight Medical Products Inc. has foundered. The combination would have eased Paris-based Pixium’s entry into the U.S. market and Sylmar, Calif.-based Second Sight’s access to the European market, which Pixium has previously opposed, and enabled them to jointly develop and market neuromodulation devices that restore some degree of vision to the blind. The deal had been expected to close early in the second quarter of 2021.

Invitae Corp. has inked a definitive agreement to acquire Genosity Inc., a genomics company with a technology platform for next-generation sequencing (NGS) assays, for approximately $200 million in cash and stock. Separately, the medical genetic testing company reported a $1.15 billion investment, led by Softbank Group subsidiary SB Management, to support ongoing growth initiatives. San Francisco-based Invitae expects the Genosity platform to accelerate the development and launch of its oncology products, including three tests that won FDA breakthrough device designation.

PERTH, Australia – Analytica Ltd. signed a joint venture agreement with Hebei Nacol Bio-Technology Co. Ltd. and Shijiazhuang Biosphere Pty Ltd., of Hebei Province, China, to manufacture and distribute its Pericoach device for urinary incontinence in China, Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Merck & Co. Inc. telegraphed the future focus of Organon & Co., which will spin off from the pharmaceutical giant as a public company in the first half of 2021, with an announcement of an agreement to acquire Alydia Health Inc. Alydia makes the Jada system, which treats postpartum hemorrhage.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is seeking to block Illumina Inc.’s $7.1 billion purchase of Grail Inc., claiming the deal will “diminish innovation in the U.S. market” for multicancer early detection (MCED) tests, which could be used to flag dozens of tumor types when they are still treatable. Illumina has vowed to “pursue all legal options” to complete its acquisition of Grail, arguing that it does not compete with Grail and is committed to providing “unfettered access” to its NGS technology.