Merck Serono launches infertility-focused spinoff TocopheRx

Merck Serono has announced the launch of TocopheRx, the latest new business to be spun off through the company's Entrepreneur Partnership Programme (EPP).

The Boston-based TocopheRx will focus on the development of oral follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) agonists for the treatment of infertility and will be advancing a preclinical programme towards clinical testing.

Receiving seed funding of $3.2 million (1.95 million pounds) from its former parent, the new organisation will be led by chief scientific officer Stephen Palmer, head of biology Selva Nataraja and medicinal chemistry head Henry Yu.

The move allows Merck Serono to maintain the progress of an innovative investigational product in a cost-efficient manner through externalisation.

Annalisa Jenkins, head of global research and development for Merck Serono, said: "This seeding approach will enable us to further support the development of an oral FSH agonist, a promising early asset that we hope will help couples seeking fertility solutions."

TocopheRx is the eighth company launched since the EPP was introduced last April. The seventh was the EspeRare Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to rare diseases, which was founded in April 2013.