Merck Serono signs deal with Genea Biomedx for fertility treatment

German life science and performance materials company Merck KGaA (MRK: DE) has entered into a global collaboration agreement with the fertility technologies expert Genea Biomedx, an Australian company, dedicated to advancing fertility science and helping couples create families.

With this partnership, Merck Serono, the biopharmaceutical business of Merck, and global market leader in drugs for assisted reproductive treatment (ART), receives global marketing and commercialization rights to Genea Biomedx’ product portfolio. This comprises the innovative Gavi, Geri and Gems product lines which are expected to receive CE mark in Europe shortly, as well as a joint development pipeline. Financial terms of the accord were not disclosed.

Gavi will be the world’s first fully automated vitrification instrument, focusing on lab processes with the aim of reducing potential errors and increasing efficiency in cryopreservation of embryos and in the future for oocytes (eggs). Geri is a benchtop incubator fitted with a time-lapse camera to capture images of embryos as they develop and individually controlled incubation chambers per patient to minimize disruptive events to the early-stage embryo. Gems is the latest generation of Genea’s culture media allowing for high quality embryo cultivation.