India-based CLARIS Lifesciences Ltd., which operates a generic sterile injectables business, has become the belle of the ball as multi-national companies such as Pfizer Inc., Amneal, Novartis AG and Indian companies such as Lupin and Cipla, are lining up to play the

Novartis , the world’s biggest pharmaceutical (big pharma) company, recently increased its interest in Israel to sign pharma deals. For a long time, the company was active in marketing and clinical trials in Israel, and now it is involved in investment as well.

M&A hunt: Speaking at the Leerink Swann Global Healthcare Conference last week, James Foster, chief executive officer of Charles River Laboratories, indicated the company was actively looking for merger and acquisition targets in 2015.

M&A news: The Canadian pharma company Valeant Pharmaceuticals is rumoured to be raising money to make a bid for specialty drugmaker Salix Pharmaceuticals, according to Bloomberg, which cites people familiar with the matter.

Merger news: Rumors that Ireland-based Actavis  is still looking to buy up a company or two continue with speculation that it is considering Spanish drugmaker Almirall SA. Actavis, which is domiciled in Ireland, but operates out of Parsippany, N.J. was also earlier rumored to be interested in buying GI drugmaker Salix Pharmaceuticals and Omega Pharma NV.

Biotech rumor mill: Helix BioPharma Corp. announced Friday that it has begun “a comprehensive exploration of growth opportunities,” code that most of the biotech market has taken to mean the company has a shopping list of potential acquisitions and will be buying snap-on targets soon.

Big pharma company Bayer , is going hunting for pharma deals again, with its chief executive expected to tell media outlets  that it is looking for further takeover pharma deals.

Private equity firms are circling Bayer’s €10bn plastics business merger, hoping to divert the German drugmaker from its plan to list the division, two people familiar with the matter said yesterday.

Several companies are rumored to be competing to acquire Omega Pharma, the fastest growing consumer healthcare company in the U.K. and Ireland.

In response to recent changes to the U.S. tax code to discourage so-called tax inversion deals, Chicago-based AbbVie recently indicated it was rethinking its $54 billion takeover bid of U.K.-based Shire.