Abbvie Inc. and Regenxbio Inc. have announced a partnership to develop and commercialize RGX-314, a potential one-time gene therapy for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD), diabetic retinopathy and other chronic retinal diseases. Under the terms of the agreement, Abbvie will pay Regenxbio $370 million up front, plus up to $1.38 billion in additional development, regulatory and commercial milestones. The deal gives '314 – already the most advanced gene therapy in wet AMD – another potential edge against its nearest competitor, Adverum Biotechnologies Inc.’s ADVM-022.

Robotic technologies company Stereotaxis Inc. is scaling up its footprint in the Chinese med-tech market, with a deal to commercialize its robotic technology for heart rhythm therapy in China with Shanghai Microport EP Medtech Co. Ltd. The St. Louis-based Stereotaxis aims to introduce a second-generation robot called Genesis to the Chinese market that uses a magnetic navigation technology to treat heart rhythm disorders. Its partner, Shanghai Microport EP Medtech, is a division of one of China's largest med-tech manufacturers, Shanghai-based Microport Scientific Corp.

Proqr Therapeutics NV sealed a deal for genetic disorders in the liver and nervous system with Eli Lilly and Co., collecting $50 million in the form of an up-front payment ($20 million) and an equity investment ($30 million), with the prospect of about $1.25 billion more if the arrangement hits research, development and commercialization goals. “The milestones are pretty evenly spread out,” said Smital Shah, Proqr’s chief business and financial officer, though details weren’t provided.

ICU Medical Inc. reached an agreement with Smiths Group plc to buy Smiths Medical division for $2.35 billion in cash and stock. The deal represents an improvement in the terms reached between Trulli Bidco Ltd. and Smiths Group in early August for the purchase of the same division. Trulli, a wholly owned subsidiary of Boston-based equity firm TA Associates, offered $2.3 billion with a kicker of $200 million contingent on future performance. “This is a positive for Smiths, and comes as something of a surprise (to us, and we suspect, investors),” said Andy Douglas, equity analyst, at Jefferies Equity Research. “The uplift in value of $0.4 million is helpful, and the opportunity to share more future upside is also a positive.”

Stryker Corp. has made its second acquisition of the year, picking up Gauss Surgical Inc. – the developer of an artificial intelligence (AI) platform for real-time monitoring of blood loss during surgery. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Kalamazoo, Mich.-based Stryker’s shares (NASDAQ:SYK) were trading 5% higher following the acquisition. Menlo Park, Calif.-based Gauss Surgical’s Triton AI technology aims to fill a void in maternal health by enabling early detection of hemorrhage.

Illumina Inc. and Merck & Co. Inc. are partnering to commercialize tests identifying genetic mutations used in the assessment of homologous recombination deficiency.

DUBLIN – With more than six months to go before an initial interim readout from its phase III pivotal trial of ilofotase alfa (recombinant human alkaline phosphatase) in sepsis-associated acute kidney injury (SA-AKI), AM-Pharma BV has already found a buyer for Japanese rights to the product. Kyowa Kirin Co. Ltd. is paying €20 million up front and could pay up to €225 million more in milestones attached to the progress of the program.

Sanofi SA has added to its general medicines portfolio with a $1.9 billion acquisition of Kadmon Holding Inc. and its recently-approved graft-vs.-host disease drug Rezurock (belumosudil).

Innovent Biologics Inc. has inked a $312 million licensing deal for the development and commercialization of Genfleet Therapeutics Inc.’s KRAS G12C inhibitor, GFH-925, in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Innovent also has additional option-in rights for global development and commercialization.