Private Company Edition: Flare Therapeutics, targeting transcription factors to discover precision medicines, had big pharma backing for its second venture capital financing. Also, Mediar closed a $10m series A round, Switch launched with $52m and EpiBiologics raised a $50m series A round.

The company intends to use the series B cash to bring the first of its pan-amyloid removal (PAR) therapies into the clinic, while also advancing a diagnostic tool for systemic amyloidosis.

At $4.2 billion, biopharma financing in Q4 2012 showed a 36% increase over Q3 with FOPOs again dominating as the most popular deal type. With 34 finalized biopharma M&As, Q4 was the most active quarter of all 2012 for acquisitions. The 108 biopharma alliances completed had a combined potential deal value of almost $2 billion; Johnson & Johnson, with seven tie-ups, was the busiest pharmaco during Q4.

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.