When almost everything that could go wrong has gone wrong at a company, the proposition of it turning acquirer may meet with some resistance from its proposed targets and their investors.

Eikon launched in 2021 with $148m in series A venture capital and former Merck R&D head Roger Perlmutter as its CEO, but even with half a billion dollars in fresh cash, the firm has not revealed its therapeutic focus.

In the third quarter of 2021, medical device company M&A values reached $7.1bn, while in vitro diagnostic firms and research tools players completed M&A activity that totaled $6.7bn.

Pacific Biosciences has agreed to pay $600m upfront in cash and stock and up $200m in additional milestone payments to acquire Omniome. PacBio also announced a new private placement of common stock to raise $300m.