Two players in the gene sequencing space, Illumina and Pacific Biosciences, have scotched their planned $1.2 billion merger roughly two weeks after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) posted a 5-0 vote to seek an injunction against the merger. While Illumina is consequently liable for nearly $100 million in termination fees, it could recoup those monies under some circumstances. The $1.2 billion merger between Illumina Inc., of San Diego, and Pacific Biosciences of California Inc., was formally announced by the two companies in November 2018, but the deal faced substantial regulatory difficulty from the outset.

HONG KONG – Fujifilm Corp. has entered an agreement with Hitachi Ltd. to acquire Hitachi Ltd.’s diagnostic imaging-related business to further expand Fujifilm’s health care business. Prior to the acquisition, Hitachi will found a new company and implement an absorption-type company split whereby the new company will absorb the business.

LONDON – Dutch startup Enzyre BV is teaming up with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. to complete development of a home diagnostic device that aims to make it as easy for hemophiliacs to self-test their coagulation status as it is for diabetics to monitor their blood sugar levels.

A pair of Israeli health tech companies, Beyond Verbal and Healthymize, plan to merge to form Newton, Mass.-based Vocalis Health. The company will be focused on developing vocal biomarkers, which track voice patterns via phone calls or smart devices to screen for various voice-indicating ailments including chronic respiratory and cardiac conditions, as well as depression. Vocalis has raised a $9 million financing led by Israeli health tech and life science venture firm Amoon to accumulate additional clinical data and enhance its voice database.

Lantheus Holdings Inc., of North Billerica, Mass., has entered a strategic collaboration with Paris-based Carthera SAS for the use of its microbubbles in combination with Carthera’s investigational Sonocloud system. The implantable device is in development for the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma, a fast-growing brain tumor with a post-diagnosis median survival of just 15 months. The new deal furthers two of Lantheus’ strategic goals, finding new applications for its microbubbles and expanding its footprint in oncology.

LONDON – GE Healthcare Life Sciences is bringing its heft to 3D bioprinting in an agreement with Advanced Solutions Life Science Inc. (ASLS), in which the partners aim to automate the production of quality-assured, vascularized tissues, for bone, soft tissue and organ replacements.

As part of newly announced collaborations with Cleveland-based Viewray Inc., Elekta AB assumed a 9.9% stake in the company, and Medtronic plc also made a minority investment. The company's largest shareholder, Fosun International Ltd., also led the round. "In total, the company raised approximately $139 million, net of fees," Viewray President and CEO Scott Drake told BioWorld MedTech.

Genomic testing firm Veracyte Inc., of South San Francisco, has inked a definitive agreement with Seattle-based Nanostring Technologies Inc. for the global rights to Nanostring’s Ncounter platform. The deal – for $50 million in cash and Veracyte stock, plus up to $10 million in potential milestone payments – will allow Veracyte to develop and commercialize diagnostic tests on Nanostring’s Ncounter Flex system.

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), also known as diastolic heart failure, accounts for roughly half of all heart failure cases worldwide. The condition, which occurs when the ventricles do not relax as they fill with blood following heart muscle contractions, is especially common in elderly women, striking up to 10% of those over 80 years old. Now stem cell biotech firm Novoheart Holdings Inc., of Vancouver, British Columbia, is partnering with Astrazeneca plc, of Cambridge, U.K., to co-develop a human-specific in vitro, functional model of HFpEF. The goal is to give drug researchers critical clues of a drug candidate’s efficacy before it is tested in patients.

Baxter International Inc., of Deerfield, Ill., has entered an agreement to acquire Seprafilm adhesion barrier and related assets from Paris-based Sanofi SA. The expected price at closing is $350 million, with the transaction anticipated to wrap up in the first quarter of 2020.