DARMSTADT, Germany, November 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Not intended for U.S. based media 

• Merck has launched its innovative witnessing tool Gidget™ and its new benchtop incubator Geri™+ to support fertility laboratories during all steps of IVF (in-vitro-fertilization) 
• Both technologies were developed by Merck in collaboration with Genea Biomedx  
• Products underline Merck's healthcare strategy to deliver innovation and improve treatment outcomes for patients 

Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced the launch of the two new innovative fertility technologies Gidget™ and Geri™+ to extend its innovative portfolio to support all steps performed by fertility laboratories during assisted reproductive treatment (ART), where technologies play a vital role for treatment success. Gidget™ is designed as an easy-to-use witnessing and tracking system to reduce the potential for error and improve lab workflows, and Geri™+ is the basis to combine the Geri™ embryo incubator and the innovative Eeva® algorithm. Both new products underline Merck's healthcare strategy to provide innovation to patients / customers through best-in-class products.

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"As the worldwide leader in fertility treatments, Merck continues to focus on innovation, in order to enable clinics to make individualized treatment decisions with and for their patients," said Rehan Verjee, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer at the biopharma business of Merck. "Both Gidget™ and Geri™+ increase embryologists' options to provide the best possible treatment solutions for women and couples wanting to have a baby, such as offering greater safety and assurance for IVF patients and enabling a personalized workflow management and patient tracking."

Gidget™ and Geri™+ stem from the ARTinnovations development hub, which Merck formed in collaboration with Genea Biomedx Propriety Ltd., Sydney, Australia. ARTinnovations is an incubator for ideas and innovations for fertility treatment and technologies. It combines the commitment and know-how of both partners to develop ideas that can take root and grow into better outcomes for patients.

Integrating bright- and dark-field imaging, the Geri™+ incubator now allows for combination with the Eeva® software and any Geri Assess version. Geri+ becomes a multifunctional incubator, which gives embryologists a multitude of possibilities around embryo analytics. It brings together the benefits of undisturbed incubation, while complying with the high control and safety standards of the GeriTM incubator and the analytics of the Eeva® software, the first automated algorithm clinically shown to improve embryo assessment.^[1],[2],[3]

Gidget™ is a hand-held device for the IVF laboratory that lets the embryologist focus on the science by eliminating any chance of mismatching, and includes unique tracking and workflow features. It provides electronic witnessing, lab workflow management and support for traceability and audit reporting.

Both products will be available immediately in Europe and Canada, with Gidget™ also launching in the US, Japan and additional regions set to follow soon.

References 

        1. VerMilyea MD, et al. Repromed Biomed Online. 2014; 29(6):729-736

        2. Diamond MP, et al.J Assist Reprod Genet. 2015 Jan;32(1):61-8

        3. Adamson GD, et al. Fertil Steril 2016; 105(2):369-375

About Gidget™ and Geri™+  

Gidget™ is designed as easy-to-use hand-held device to aid sample identification and tracking during ART procedures. Gidget™ is used to scan dishes, tubes and other consumables used to maintain and process patient material to eliminate mismatching from occurring. However, Gidget™ provides further functionalities and benefits for the lab than a pure witnessing system, enabling a personalized intelligent ART assistance for clinical workflow management and patient tracking.

Geri™+ is an innovative multifunctional incubator with individually controlled incubation chambers per patient and a camera to real time monitor the developing embryos, now combinable with the analytics of the Eeva® software. To give each embryo the best chance of development, Geri™+ is designed to provide undisturbed incubation environment with the highest control and safety standards.

About the ARTinnovations hub 

The development hub ARTinnovations is an incubator for ideas and innovations for fertility treatment and technologies. A collaboration between Genea Biomedx and Merck, ARTinnovations provides the support and know-how to develop ideas so that they take root and grow into better outcomes for patients. Building on its strong heritage in fertility treatment, Merck aims to jointly develop an innovative pipeline of fertility technologies and services through the ARTinnovations hub, to help support patients undergoing ART and provide healthcare professionals with objective information to make important treatment decisions.

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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 € 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.

Contact: Gangolf Schrimpf, +49-6151-729591

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SOURCE Merck