Merck Serono announces recipients of second Grant for Fertility Innovation

Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, today announces the recipients of its second Grant for Fertility Innovation. The company has awarded up to 1 million Euros to five innovative research projects with the same common goal: to improve the chances for couples to conceive a baby. The Grant for Fertility Innovation program was developed by Merck Serono to support the advancement of medical science in the field of fertility.

"We are delighted to build on the success of the Grant for Fertility Innovation which was launched last year. This initiative represents an unprecedented commitment from Merck Serono to encourage innovative thinking among the scientific community in the fertility area," said Dr. Bharat Tewarie, Senior Vice President Global Business Unit Fertility and Metabolic Endocrinology at Merck Serono. "Today, we are proud to award grants to five breakthrough projects which have demonstrated a potential to develop into novel applications for clinicians to improve patients outcomes. We will continue to stimulate innovation also externally in the fertility field by offering a new grant next year."

This year, 55 applications were received from 14 countries around the world. Projects were selected by a scientific committee composed of fertility experts. Each entry was blinded and evaluated according to five criteria: support to increase the chances to conceive a baby, innovation, scientific rationale, feasibility and practical utility.

The awardees were announced at a ceremony held at the 27^th annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE), in the presence of Dr Alan Trounson, President of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, San Francisco and Dr Dagan Wells, BRC Scientific Leadership Fellow in Reproductive Genetics at the Nuffield Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, University of Oxford. Dr Dagan Wells was an award grantee of GFI in 2010.

This year's grants were awarded to:

• Prof Henrique Almeida, Faculdade de Medicina do Porto, FMUP (Porto, Portugal) and Prof João Luis Silva-Carvalho, Faculdade de Medicina do Porto, FMUP Centro de Estudo e Tratamento de Infertilidade, CETI, Porto, Portugal.
  Project: Utilization of biomarkers in human cumulus oophorus cells to improve oocyte selection and outcomes of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART).

• Prof Nick Macklon, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Division of   Developmental Origins of Adult Diseases (DOHaD), University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom and Prof Bart CJM Fauser, Chair, Division Woman & Baby University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
  Project: Endometrial gene expression profile associated with recurrent implantation failure.

• Dr Paola Scaruffi Center of Physiopathology of Human Reproduction, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, San Martino Hospital, Genova, Italy.
  Project: Cell DNA-Free test as a non invasive biomarker for assessing embryo viability.

• Dr Roberto Matorras, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hospital from Cruces, País Vasco University, Baracaldo, Vizcaya, Spain
  Project: Endometrial fluid proteomics to assess uterine receptivity

• Dr Séverine Le Gac Assistant Professor, University of Twente, The Netherlands and Prof C.B. (Nils) Lambalk, Professor, Division of Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics/Gynaecology VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Nertherlands.
  Project: Laboratory on a Chip and utilization of biomarkers to assess embryo viability