Sysnav Healthcare SA and Roche Holding AG entered a new collaboration to develop digital endpoints for use in clinical trials of therapies for a range of neuromuscular disorders. The alliance combines Sysnav’s expertise in wearable technologies and movement evaluation with Roche’s clinical experience. It builds on an existing collaboration that led to the qualification of the world’s first digital endpoint, for evaluating therapies in development for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). They now aim to put that experience to work in widening its application to other disorders in which movement is a key parameter.

Companion Spine SAS has acquired Backbone SAS, a company that develops implantable functional motion restoration devices for treating spinal disorders. The inclusion of Backbone's flagship medical device, Lisa – a lumbar implant for stiffness augmentation – completes the Companion Spine portfolio.

Shockwave Medical Inc. will acquire Neovasc Inc. for just under $108 million, if all terms of the deal are met. Shockwave will pay $27.25 in cash for each of Neovasc’s 2.71 million outstanding shares or approximately $73.78 million at close. Shockwave said the offer corresponds to an enterprise value of $100 million. Neovasc could receive an additional payment of up to $47 million, if the company’s Reducer system for refractory angina obtains U.S. FDA marketing approval within a specified time frame.

Newly spun out GE Healthcare Technologies Inc. presented preliminary results for the fourth quarter and full year 2022 at the 41st annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference on Tuesday. The update followed the announcement of plans to purchase Imactis SAS, which developed CT-Navigation, a stereotactic needle guidance system. Terms of the Imactis deal were not disclosed.

Baxter International Inc. wasted no time in tackling its New Year’s resolution to trim down the business. On Friday morning, the company revealed details around the divestitures it foreshadowed in its third quarter 2022 earnings call with the announcement that it planned a tax-free spin off its Renal Care and Acute Therapies businesses into an independent, publicly traded company within the next 12 to 18 months.

Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc. (ZBH) agreed to acquire Embody Inc. for $155 million at closing with an additional $120 million in contingent milestone payments over the next three years. The deal includes Embody’s entire portfolio of collagen-based regenerative solutions for soft tissue injuries. The transaction is expected to close in February.

With many of the big names in med tech focused on streamlining their portfolios and spinning off divisions as independent companies, M&A activity sputtered through most of 2022. As the year comes to a close, however, deal volume has increased, with a strong trend toward acquisitions of closely related companies and units that bolstered higher-growth product lines and offered short cuts to filling in significant gaps in portfolios.

The success of new year’s resolutions for 2023 won’t be known for months to come, but from the vantage point of December, it is easy to see that many large med-tech companies resolved to shed excess weight in 2022 – and did so in dramatic fashion. Some big-name players decided that they would be more agile, and better rewarded by shareholders, with a trimmer portfolio, while others saw value in setting internal operating units free as new companies. As part of our year in review, BioWorld looks at the big deals, the new companies and the impact of all these actions on 2023.

Prenetics Global Ltd. agreed to acquire a majority stake in Act Genomics Holdings Co. Ltd. as part of a move to target the precision oncology market. Prenetics will issue 19.9 million class A ordinary shares and pay $20 million in cash to complete the acquisition.