Q3 medtech financing doubled in dollar volume to $3 billion, with debt offerings again representing the majority of the aggregate; acquisitions totaled $5.3 billion, mainly due to Johnson & Johnson’s $4.3 billion buy of Abbott Medical Optics. Diagnostics financings, which brought in $85 million, continued to decline, but at $5 billion, acquisitions showed a slight increase over the previous quarter, with Danaher’s takeover of Cepheid accounting for most of the M&A volume.

Six pharma deals announced thus far in 2016 carried up-front values of $1 billion or more, down considerably from the high-volume, high-value M&A industry experienced the prior two years. Pharma manufacturers appear to be recalibrating – digesting previous acquisitions, adjusting to new biotech valuations and taking stock of the political and macro-economic climate – but fundamentals suggest pharma dealmaking will pick up. Pfizer’s $14 billion offer for Medivation might represent a turning point.

New venture DigiTx will give Astellas a leg up in its quest to access novel digital health technologies, in a move unveiled as the Japanese firm reported continued strong growth for top product Xtandi.