It only took a couple of billion-dollar transactions in the second quarter (Q2) of 2023 to push med-tech dealmaking values above all other recent years. Despite the surge in value, the volume of deals is level with other quarters.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been exceptionally active in the mergers and acquisitions space for the past 18 months, but Congress might soon amplify these agencies’ ability to suppress these transactions. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who chairs the competition subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a recent hearing that vertical mergers have flown largely off the enforcement radar, a problem that Congress could address by several means, including by providing the FTC with a heftier budget to pursue these cases.

Santen Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. is selling its North American branded ophthalmic portfolio to Visiox Pharma LLC and Harrow Health Inc. in a move to make its global organization as competitive as possible, Santen told BioWorld.

With Aeon Biopharma Inc. listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on July 24, South Korea’s Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. is seeking new territory for its beleaguered botulinum toxin (BTX) product, Nabota (Jeuveau or ABP-450 in the U.S). Aeon’s move is expected help expand Nabota beyond aesthetic treatment to include medical conditions such as episodic migraines, cervical dystonia and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Sosei Heptares is fulfilling its ambition for growth in the Asia-Pacific region by buying the Japanese and South Korea businesses of Swiss biotech Idorsia Ltd. for ¥65 billion (US$463 million), potentially freeing Idorsia from its struggle to prove its stroke drug, Pivlaz (clazosentan), is effective enough to warrant approval in key Western markets.

As quicker, more accurate ways to detect dementia becomes ever more urgent, Cumulus Neuroscience Ltd. has teamed up with the Universities of Bath and Bristol in the U.K. to further develop the Fastball electroencephalogram (EEG) test, a diagnostic test for earlier detection of Alzheimer’s dementia. With one in three people born in the U.K. today likely to develop dementia at some point in their lives, early diagnosis and treatment are essential for them to plan for their future.

Alnylam Pharmaceutical Inc. hopes to tap into Roche Holding AG’s global footprint with its early-stage hypertension RNAi therapeutic, zilebesiran, selling development and commercialization rights to the pharma giant for up to $2.8 billion with a view to extending the drug’s future reach beyond the U.S market.

Sosei Heptares is fulfilling its ambition for growth in the Asia-Pacific region by buying the Japanese and South Korea businesses of Swiss biotech Idorsia Ltd. for ¥65 billion (US$463 million), potentially freeing Idorsia from its struggle to prove its stroke drug, Pivlaz (clazosentan), is effective enough to warrant approval in key Western markets.

Dismissed as undruggable in the early 2000s, Src homology 2 domains are now viable and at the heart of Recludix Pharma Inc.’s new deal with Sanofi SA’s U.S. unit. The two will collaborate on developing and commercializing treatments for immunological and inflammatory diseases. In the near term, Recludix will get $125 million, but long term it could add up to $1.2 billion in milestones. Recludix could also bring in up to double-digit royalties on possible future product sales.