Merck Serono and Auxogyn to collaborate on fertility test

Merck Serono has agreed a deal with Auxogyn that will see the companies jointly creating a test that provides data to help assess the viability of embryos.

The strategic alliance will see Merck Serono offer strategic, scientific and medical support to aid the development and commercialisation of the Eeva (Early Embryo Viability Assessment) Test from Auxogyn.

Compatible with most standard embryo incubators, the test integrates a multi-well dish for embryos, an intelligent computer vision software solution and a digital inverted time-lapse microscope with darkfield illumination.

Eeva received European CE Mark approval in July 2012 and has been shown in clinical trials to predict blastocyst formation at the cleavage stage with 85 percent specificity, while cutting the false positive rate to 15 percent.

Dr Annalisa Jenkins, executive vice-president and head of global drug development and medical at Merck Serono, said: "As a global leader in the fertility field, Merck Serono's main objective is to invest in innovative science, medicines and technologies that deliver improved outcomes to patients throughout the IVF process."

Earlier this month, the company announced the creation of a new spin-off company called Asceneuron, which will focus on the development of treatments for neurodegenerative disease.