The volume of applications for diagnostic test waivers under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments increased fivefold in FY 2014, but the total numbers are small, and the change may simply reflect routine year-to-year variation.

A roundup of recent medtech mergers & acquisitions, strategic alliances, and financings.

The Dealmaking column is a survey of recent transactions, including strategic alliances, mergers & acquisitions, and financings, in the life sciences industries. Deals are listed by the following industry sectors: in vitro diagnostics, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and research/analytical instrumentation and reagents. All transactions are excerpted from Elsevier's Strategic Transactions database, providing comprehensive transaction coverage from 1991 to the present.