Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., of Waltham, Mass., has made a bold play in the molecular diagnostics market, including infectious disease testing, with its proposed $11.5 billion acquisition of Qiagen NV, of Venlo, Netherlands. Word of the deal comes after reports late last year that named Thermo Fisher as a potential suitor for Qiagen. However, in late December, Qiagen said it had wrapped up a review of potential strategic alternatives and decided its standalone business plan represented the best opportunity for value creation.

TORONTO – Montreal’s McGill University and the Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital (The Neuro) have entered a research agreement with Pasadena, Calif.-based Fuzionaire Diagnostics Inc. to detect and treat neurodegenerative diseases through molecular imaging.

London-based Livanova plc has entered a collaboration with Verily Inc., an Alphabet company, to enrich data from its RECOVER trial using tools and analytics developed by Verily. The study, which kicked off last September, is assessing the effectiveness of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) therapy for patients with difficult-to-treat depression (DTD).

PARIS – Vygon SA, of Ecouen, France, has acquired Advanced Perfusion Diagnostics SA (APD), a startup based in Lyon, France, that has developed Ikorus, a device that detects changes in visceral microvascular blood flow in the most critically ill hospital patients. Vygon did not disclose the financial details behind the agreement.

Making routine diagnostic blood tests less invasive, easier, cheaper and more accessible is a worthy goal. But achieving it has eluded many, including former unicorn startup Theranos that boasted it had achieved precisely that but then was later exposed as a fraud. Established med-tech player Becton, Dickinson and Co. (BD) and Babson Diagnostics Inc. have established a long-term strategic partnership to bring laboratory quality, small-volume blood collection into the retail pharmacy setting.

Dublin-based Medtronic plc acquired privately held Digital Surgery, which is focused on surgical artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics, and digital education and training. The companies did not release the terms of the deal. Medtronic plans to integrate Digital Surgery’s AI technology into its robotic platform and across its portfolio.

HONG KONG – Singapore molecular diagnostics group Inex Innovate Pte. Ltd. has inked a deal to have its in-vitro diagnostic (IVD) kit for the detection of ovarian cancer distributed in Taiwan. The value of the deal with the New Taipei City, Taiwan-based electronics and med-tech distributor Inalways Corp. is subject to annual minimum order quantities and milestones in relation to regulatory approvals.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Diabetes seems likely to be the first area to really show concrete products and results for the ambitious Verily Life Sciences, which is the med-tech business of Mountain View, Calif.-based Google parent Alphabet Inc. However, its two major diabetes partners both have been rethinking the relationship.