Merck, Illumina and Genea Form the Global Fertility Alliance for Excellence in Assisted Reproductive Treatment

PR60807

DARMSTADT, Germany, June 8, 2015 /PRN=KYODO JBN/ --

- Not intended for US based media

Global Fertility Alliance will identify and work on improvements of

fertility-related laboratory processes  

Merck, a leading company for innovative and top-quality high-tech products in

healthcare, life science and performance materials, today announced the

formation of the Global Fertility Alliance, a new collaboration to advance

excellence in fertility technologies and processes within the assisted

reproductive treatment (ART) laboratory. The alliance is a partnership between

Merck Serono, the biopharmaceutical business of Merck, Illumina Inc., San

Diego, US, a leader in developing and commercializing systems for analysis of

genetic variation and function, and Genea Limited, Sydney, Australia, which

develops innovative fertility technologies.

     (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150526/747165-b )

"We are the global leader in the field of fertility drugs and committed to

supporting the success and improvement in ART by going beyond drugs with

innovative technologies," explained Meeta Gulyani, Head of Global Strategy and

Franchises at Merck Serono. "By forging the Global Fertility Alliance with

partners like Illumina and Genea we aim to support the development of needed

global standards in ART labs. This will ensure a consistently high level of

performance between different centers and countries."

The alliance aims to improve the consistency in ART worldwide and addresses the

need for more standardization of fertility processes within the ART laboratory.

The three companies will launch their initiative at the 31st Annual Meeting of

the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) in Lisbon,

Portugal, on 13 June 2015. This is another important step for Merck Serono

towards establishing global standards in the growing market of fertility

technologies and the ultimate goal of helping families to have a baby.

With the establishment of the alliance, Merck Serono, Illumina and Genea

emphasize their desire to help improve fertility outcomes by contributing to

the standardization of technologies and protocols in ART labs. Currently,

variation in practices and techniques can lead to inconsistent results and

outcomes. Recognizing the importance of innovation in ART technologies the

alliance aims to enhance progress and innovation in three ways: Firstly, the

founding members aim to foster integration of multiple, leading fertility

technologies. Secondly, building on this, the alliance will aim to collaborate

with leading health care professionals and medical societies to develop global

standards. And finally, as technologies in the fertility space are rapidly

advancing, the alliance will also develop educational resources for health care

professionals worldwide. These efforts will include training curricula and

workshops as well as access to model labs, symposia and events at medical

meetings.

Illumina's Senior Vice President and General Manager of Reproductive and

Genetic Health, Tristan Orpin, also highlighted the significance of the

alliance for the reproductive biology community: "Illumina has a strong

commitment to improving in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes through the use

of industry leading genomics but appreciates that there are many factors that

impact ART outcomes. Founding the Global Fertility Alliance together with Merck

Serono and Genea represents an exciting opportunity for us to share our

knowledge and experience with the wider community and to help bring alignment

and higher consistency to ART practices worldwide. Having already partnered

with Merck Serono in other treatment areas, we are confident this collaboration

of innovators in the fertility field will deliver a significant positive impact

for health care professionals, fertility labs, and most importantly their

patients."

"Increasing success rates for patients worldwide and advancing the science of

fertility treatment is an integral part of our mission," said Tomas Stojanov,

CEO of Genea. "The new Global Fertility Alliance for excellence in ART will

drive automation and standardization in the field and support health care

professionals in providing their patients with the best possible outcomes."

In order to rapidly progress the initiative, Merck Serono, Illumina and Genea

will actively contribute to the alliance and establish a board of

representatives, which will meet regularly. At the same time, the companies

invite new members, who demonstrate a consistent commitment to driving

technology innovation and improving ART results, to join the alliance.

About Genea

Genea is a fertility pioneer, researching, developing and introducing

breakthrough techniques and technologies in assisted reproductive treatment for

almost 30 years. Genea is a strongly interconnected group of three companies:

Genea Fertility has clinics across Australia, as well as in New Zealand and

Thailand.

Genea Biomedx creates and manufactures practical, accessible and precise

fertility technologies that help standardise and automate fertility treatment.

Its unique relationship with Genea Fertility means that Genea Biomedx is a

manufacturer that truly understands the customers' perspective. As a result

Genea Biomedx has developed the world's first automated vitrification

instrument, and has other projects well advanced in the product pipeline.  

Genea Biocells develops unique disease-specific and unaffected human

pluripotent stem cell platforms, differentiated cells, including the first

robust skeletal muscle differentiation platform; culture media and small

molecule libraries for use in research, drug development and cell therapy.

Genea Biocells partners with scientists in industry and academia to advance

innovative projects using chemical biology and stem cell-driven approaches.

About Illumina

Illumina is improving human health by unlocking the power of the genome.  Our

focus on innovation has established us as the global leader in DNA sequencing

and array-based technologies, serving customers in the research, clinical and

applied markets.  Our products are used for applications in the life sciences,

oncology, reproductive health, agriculture and other emerging segments.

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Merck is a leading company for innovative and top-quality high-tech products in

healthcare, life science and performance materials. The company has six

businesses - Merck Serono, Consumer Health, Allergopharma, Biosimilars, Merck

Millipore and Performance Materials - and generated sales of around EUR 11.3

billion in 2014. Around 39,000 Merck employees work in 66 countries to improve

the quality of life for patients, to foster the success of customers and to

help meet global challenges. Merck is the world's oldest pharmaceutical and

chemical company - since 1668, the company has stood for innovation, business

success and responsible entrepreneurship. Holding an approximately 70%

interest, the founding family remains the majority owner of the company to this

day. Merck, Darmstadt, Germany, holds the global rights to the Merck name and

brand. The only exceptions are Canada and the United States, where the company

operates as EMD Serono, EMD Millipore and EMD Performance Materials.

Source: Merck Serono