Allergan will pay $2.9bn in cash for LifeCell, a division of Acelity, adding its first regenerative medicine portfolio and marking its first commercial-stage deal in more than a year. The company hopes to exploit the surgical products for aesthetic uses beyond breast reconstruction.

The device industry is playing a pivotal role in the evolution toward a more personalized approach to breast cancer management, with ongoing advances in minimally invasive treatment systems, tumor characterization and breast imaging technologies adding to the momentum. In the years ahead, as the breast cancer toolbox expands, the watchword will be “choice,” with physicians and patients offered more treatment options, targeted to their specific needs and desires, than ever before.

Hernia repair is a staple of the general surgeon’s practice, with more than two million procedures performed annually worldwide. However, the procedure has proven problematic due to the mesh products used to repair the hernia defect and their potential to cause complications over time. At the Fifth International Hernia Congress, held recently in New York City, physicians debated the pros and cons of the many hernia repair mesh products that are now available. Although the general consensus at the meeting was there is no “ideal mesh,” mesh manufacturers continue to innovate in this field, offering a host of new products for this $500+ million market, including a variety of biologic meshes for complex repairs, synthetic meshes with biologic-like properties, fully resorbable meshes, and meshes with bacteriostatic properties.