EMD Serono, the biopharmaceutical business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, in the U.S. and Canada, has announced the creation of a dedicated Fertility Technologies division that will advance the company's leadership in fertility innovation.
"The knowledge we have gained from working in collaboration with the infertility community over many decades has provided us with a deep understanding of the needs of healthcare professionals as well as the medical and emotional struggles of couples undergoing assisted reproductive treatment," said Subhrangshu Datta, Senior Business Director, Fertility Technologies. "The goal for our fertility technologies portfolio is to bring new, innovative solutions to in vitro fertilization (IVF) laboratories, ultimately aiming for better outcomes for patients facing infertility through automated devices designed to improve standardization and consistency."
The company's launch of a dedicated Fertility Technologies division in the United States builds on the global partnership that Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany formed with Genea Biomedx in May 2015. The partnership provided Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, with the global marketing and commercialization rights to Genea's product portfolio.
The Fertility Technologies division launched with Gidget™, a hand-held witnessing system for the in IVF laboratory that allows the embryologist to focus on the science by helping to ensure that gametes and embryos are matched correctly. Gidget™ provides electronic witnessing, visual lab workflow management and support for traceability and audit reporting. The launch of additional products are planned for 2017.
"To ensure that we were researching the most relevant Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) treatment and gathering the information that would be most beneficial to the medical community, we partnered with some of the largest fertility centers in the United States and sought the expertise of scientific advisors," said Mary Mahony, PhD, Vice President, Fertility and Endocrinology, EMD Serono. "This real-world data analysis has provided key insights into clinical and laboratory trends and associated outcomes and we are pleased that medical organizations like ASRM and the broader healthcare industry find this information helpful as we seek to improve patient care and outcomes in fertility treatment."