Merck, a leading company for innovative and top-quality high-tech products in healthcare, life science and performance materials, 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's 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.

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.

The collaboration is part of the company's strategy to provide the best fertility solutions to its customers to increase success rates. With the global rights to these three product lines and future developments, Merck Serono is expanding its market position, offering key potentially outcome improving technologies to support standardization, automation and objectivity. To further strengthen this position, Merck Serono will closely collaborate with Genea Biomedx to jointly develop other innovative technology products and services, and have formed a development hub to pave the way for further improvements for the patient.

"As a pioneer in reproductive health, we are continuously seeking to extend our product portfolio to bring innovative science and services to the fertility community," explained Belén Garijo, member of the executive board of Merck and CEO Healthcare. "There is significant need for improved technologies in fertility treatment, since the majority of issues in ART are beyond drug therapy. The key priority of our Fertility Technologies unit at Merck Serono is to advance our fertility portfolio beyond drugs and to enable innovation in technologies and services. Entering a global partnership with Genea will allow Merck to introduce innovative technologies in the ART market, further aiming to improve outcomes throughout the in vitro fertilization process. Merck Serono is dedicated to help patients realize their dream of creating a family."

"Advancing the science of fertility treatment to improve outcomes and success rates for patients worldwide is Genea's mission and we are excited that our agreement with Merck helps us continue to bring that aim to fruition," said Tomas Stojanov CEO of Genea. "The launch of the three products, Gems, Gavi and Geri, is just the beginning of a unique collaboration between our two companies which will deliver innovative, high-technology products and thinking to fertility clinics around the world."    

The collaboration showcases both companies' commitment to improve fertility treatment. Both Merck Serono and Genea Biomedx have a strong heritage in fertility treatment and will build on this expertise to invent and develop innovative fertility technologies. The collaboration is effective from May 1, 2015. Financial details of the agreement are not being disclosed.