San Diego-based Illumina announced Monday the formation of the Global Fertility Alliance to standardize procedures for assisted reproduction and help more families worldwide have babies.
The alliance is a partnership between Illumina, which makes gene-sequencing equipment; Merck KGaA of Germany, which is a leader in fertility drugs; and Genea of Australia, which operates fertility clinics.
“By forging the Global Fertility Alliance with partners like Illumina and Genea, we aim to support the development of needed global standards in ART (assisted reproduction technology) labs. This will ensure a consistently high level of performance between different centers and countries,” said Meeta Gulyani, head of global strategy and franchises at the biopharmaceutical business of Merck KGaA.
According to the partners, variation in practices and techniques at assisted reproduction labs can lead to inconsistent results and outcomes.
Tristan Orpin, senior vice president and general manager for reproductive and genetic health at Illumina, said the new alliance “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.
“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,” Orpin said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 12 percent of women aged 15–44 years of age in the United States have difficulty getting pregnant or carrying a pregnancy to term.
“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.
