Recent executive-level company changes and promotions in the biopharma, medical device, and diagnostics industries.

Start-up company fundraising got off to a slow start in 2013: life sciences companies brought in $398.7 million, roughly 59% less than in the final quarter of 2012. Of the total raised, 84% went to biopharmas. The majority of start-up alliances were for discovery- or preclinical-stage products and there were four start-up acquisitions for the quarter – three in biopharma and one in the medical device sector.

Entering its fourth decade, Avalon fights through “dark days” and taps GlaxoSmithKline to help fund its next crop of early-stage start-ups. In exchange, it must deliver assets, not platforms, to trigger a GSK acquisition of those start-ups, with pre-arranged returns.

In less than two years, FDA has moved from requiring unrealistic approval standards for antibiotics to exploring innovative ways to shorten the pathway for the most-needed drugs. And, surprise: Congress is on board too. After 15 years, there is finally real momentum on antibiotic drug policy. But is it all enough to get companies back in the game?