Merck and Genea Open Centre of Excellence for Fertility

PR67183

DARMSTADT, Germany, Jan. 20, 2017 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

    Not intended for U.S. based media  

    - Merck is broadening its efforts to support ART clinics to achieve

excellence for patients

    - Through leading edge education and training, the Centre of Excellence

aims to support clinics to achieve consistent and high level of outcome  

    Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced the

opening of its first Centre of Excellence (CoE) for fertility. The objective of

the CoE is to provide fertility professionals with a strong understanding of

the concepts, processes and techniques that are undertaken in high quality

clinics in order to help address the unmet needs in assisted reproductive

treatment (ART). The centre aims to help optimize procedures to improve

treatment outcomes for couples that want to conceive. As a joint venture

between Merck and Genea, a developer of innovative fertility technologies, the

CoE demonstrates the two partners' commitment to support high standards of

education within ART.

    "The Centre of Excellence is an international training hub addressing the

global unmet needs within fertility clinics by promoting standardization of

processes for consistently high treatment outcomes," said Dorothea Wenzel, Head

of the Global Business Franchise Fertility at the biopharma business of Merck.

"Its unique concept is a reflection of the best practice standard in ART

clinics that Merck and Genea have developed."

    The CoE is a state-of-the-art facility for high quality training of

healthcare professionals, such as physicians and embryologists, to improve

clinical practices, protocols and clinic outcome. Jan Kirsten, Global Head of

Fertility Technologies, further explained: "The participants are given the

opportunity to experience first-hand how leading science and technologies work

in a real clinical environment. Thus, the concept allows Merck to offer

practical hands-on training through a training lab and the adjacent Genea

clinic, alongside theoretical education." The centre is located in Bangkok,

Thailand,  and with this central location in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region

aims to attract participants from all over the world with focus on APAC and

China. The CoE was officially opened with a ceremony held on 16 January 2017.

    The centre is another collaboration between Merck and Genea, also supported

by the partners of the Global Fertility Alliance (GFA), which was founded in

2015. The GFA is driving standardization in ART clinics for improved treatment

outcomes. Therefore, the CoE also represents the innovative technologies from

the GFA partners including Illumina, a leader in developing and commercializing

systems for analysis of genetic variation and function, ZEISS, an

internationally leading technology enterprise operating in the optics as well

as optoelectronics industries and the associated partner Chart MVE BioMedical,

the

world's leading manufacturer of cryogenic freezer systems, as well as the latest

technology in laser systems from Hamilton Thorne, Inc.

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    About Merck

    Merck is a leading science and technology company in healthcare, life

science and performance materials. Around 50,000 employees work to further

develop technologies that improve and enhance life - from biopharmaceutical

therapies to treat cancer or multiple sclerosis, cutting-edge systems for

scientific research and production, to liquid crystals for smartphones and LCD

televisions. In 2015, Merck generated sales of EUR 12.85 billion in 66

countries.

    Founded in 1668, Merck is the world's oldest pharmaceutical and chemical

company. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed

corporate group. Merck, Darmstadt, Germany holds the global rights to the Merck

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

company operates as EMD Serono, MilliporeSigma and EMD Performance Materials.

    Your Contact

    Raphaela Farrenkopf - +49-6151-722274

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         (Photo:

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    Source: Merck