Device and diagnostics fundraising slumped in Q2, but there was a substantial uptick in M&A activity. Device financings totaled just slightly over half of the previous quarter, while acquisitions grew almost six-fold, thanks primarily to Becton Dickinson's $23.5 billion play for CR Bard. Financing in diagnostics slid to $1.03 billion, less than half of Q1, whereas the $1.7 billion in M&As (most of that from PerkinElmer's $1.3 billion buy of EuroImmun) was more than double Q1's aggregate.

M&A deals rained down in April with the highest number of acquisitions of the year to date. The month saw 14 M&A deals, up by four from March's total, but still down from the 16 deals recorded in April 2016.

Qiagen official Antoine Marchal outlines how NeuModx will strengthen its position in the infectious disease space.