Small med-tech companies in the south often face difficulties raising funding to get products to market. Part of it stems from the location and the southern region of the U.S. not being a strong investment hub like some other regions of the country. Despite the funding challenges, International Biomedical Devices (IBMD; Mount Pleasant, South Carolina) is securing financing and pushing forward with a technology that could help treat patients suffering from cataracts.

Juggernaut deals within the med-tech space are often few and far between, but on Wednesday, the latest occurred when Hill-Rom (Chicago) revealed its intent to acquire Welch Allyn (Skaneateles Falls, New York) for about $2.05 billion. Hill-Rom will dole out about $1.625 billion in cash and about 8.1 million newly-issued shares of its common stock as payment for privately-held Welch Allyn.