Deals, Deals, Deals: The tide of health-care real estate deals continues, with Ventas saying it will buy Nationwide Health for $5.8 billion, plus debt, the WSJ reports . Last year deals involving medical-office properties and senior-living facilities reached $11.7 billion and that trend is expected to continue as health care shifts towards outpatient services — especially for the growing number of older Americans, the paper says. Seems Safe: Sangamo Biosciences says a very early, very small study of gene therapy against HIV in patients already infected with the virus suggests the treatment is safe, Bloomberg News reports . The treatment blocks HIV’s entrance into T cells, key components of the body’s defense against the virus. Efficacy data should be out later this year, BN says. Plexxikon Purchase: Plexxikon, which with

Roche makes the experimental late-stage melanoma drug PLX4032, is being bought by Daiichi Sankyo for $805 million, plus an additional $130 million in payments if the drug meets certain performance benchmarks, the WSJ reports . Plexxikon is also developing drugs for central nervous system, cardio-renal and autoimmune diseases, among others. Don’t Point That at Me: Laser pointers that are many times more powerful than the FDA allows — and readily available online — have the potential to cause an uptick in eye injuries, the NYT reports . So far reports are anecdotal, the paper says, citing a case report published last fall in the New England Journal of Medicine and warnings from physicians. Image: iStockphoto

Continued here:
A.M. Vitals: Ventas Will Buy Nationwide Health For $5.8 Billion