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.

By several measures, and despite economic hardships leading to layoffs at some companies, the med-tech industry fared well throughout 2022. Financing amounts were greater than nearly every year before the COVID-19 pandemic; deals reached their highest volume to date and mergers and acquisitions did better than most recent years.

It’s a little early for St. Patrick’s Day, but the green is surely flowing for Acutus Medical Inc. as the company achieved its second milestone under the terms of its asset purchase agreement with Medtronic plc and triggered a $17 million payment.

Fujifilm Corp. inked an agreement to purchase the global digital pathology business of Inspirata Inc., paving the way for expansion of its Synapse enterprise imaging offering. The transaction includes Inspirata’s Dynamyx software, which Fujifilm has distributed in the U.K. and certain European Union countries since mid-2020. Under the agreement, Fujifilm will acquire Inspirata’s digital pathology technology, as well as employees and customers associated with the brand. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. It is expected to close in early 2023.

Tandem Diabetes Care Inc. entered a definitive agreement to acquire AMF Medical SA for CHF 62.4 million (US$67.1 million) in cash at closing plus future payments of as much as CHF 129.6 million (US$139.43 million) contingent on meeting certain milestones. Tandem also invested CHF 8 million (US$8.6 million) in AMF in the third quarter of 2022. The transaction is expected to close in January 2023.

Less than a month from its launch as a stand-alone business on Jan. 4, 2023, GE Healthcare Holding LLC provided a glimpse of its future plans for growth and anticipated financials for investors. The soon-to-be-launched company is hardly waiting until its spinoff to look for tuck-in acquisitions to boost sales and profitability and add new capabilities for customers and patients.