Three months earlier than an expected update on a deal, Becton, Dickinson and Co. reported its biosciences and diagnostic solutions business will combine with Waters Corp. in a transaction valued at $17.5 billion. The resulting enterprise will operate under the Waters name and use its trading symbol (NYSE:WAT). Waters CEO Udit Batra will head the combined company.

Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc. reported it is buying orthopedic robotics maker Monogram Technologies Inc. for an upfront payment of $4.04 per share in cash, corresponding to an equity value of approximately $177 million and an enterprise value of about $168 million.

Comphya SA raised CHF 7.5 million (US$ 8.4 million) in a series A round for its implantable neurostimulation therapy, Caverstim, which treats men with erectile dysfunction who do not respond to medication.

The continuing proliferation of U.S. state privacy law drew the attention of developers of med-tech wearables for some time, but a recent Senate hearing delivered the news to Congress that a failure to preempt it will slow digital health innovation to a crawl.

The U.S. FDA recently posted three alerts under the agency’s early alert program, including an alert for the V6 and V8 versions of the Sigma Spectrum infusion pumps by Baxter International Inc., which was the result of a mix-up in software installation.