Thermo walks away from $12.5B Qiagen deal

Thermo Fisher Scientific nixed it’s $12.5 billion bid to acquire Qiagen. After a strong earnings quarter driven by COVID-19 testing, Qiagen’s shareholders were reluctant to let the deal go through. Qiagen will make an expense reimbursement payment to Thermo Fisher of $95 million.

Verily goes all in with CLIA lab plans

Is there anything Verily Life Sciences can’t do? The former life sciences arm of Google, Verily has been involved in everything from diabetes management to measuring irregular heartbeats. is addressing the COVID-19 testing constraints by establishing a CLIA- Certified Lab. Verily is using Thermo Fisher Scientific’s TaqPath test, which has a emergency use authorization (EUA) from FDA. Verily said it has filed an EUA for TaqPath to be used in testing pooled patient specimens.

Look for more M&A activity to come from Medtronic

Medtronic plans to scoop up Companion Medical, which could signal the beginning of an M&A streak for the Dublin, Ireland-based company. During a May earnings call, Medtronic executives pointed out it is a good time for deals because asset prices are down. That doesn't mean, however, that Medtronic will lower its standards, CEO Geoff Martha told investors during the call.