Medicult acquires embryo scanner
The Danish company Medicult signs an agreement with Novocellus to gain access to embryo selection technology.
Novocellus is a UK company focused on the development and commercialization of the patented amino acid profiling, AAP, technology. AAP technology is a quantitative, non-invasive method for selecting those embryos that are most likely to lead to a successful pregnancy and live birth.
Embryosure is based on amino acid profiling, a technology discovered by professor Henry Leese at the University of York, UK. It involves measuring the turnover of natural amino acids by the embryo, achieved by analysing changes in the amino acid content of the embryo culture medium.
Based on clinical trials completed to date, amino acid profiling appears valuable in identifying those embryos most likely to lead to a successful pregnancy suggesting it could lead to a 25 per cent increase in the clinical pregnancy rate.
Under the heads of terms, Medicult has agreed to fund and manage a 400 patient retrospective trial in two to three UK clinics to statistically validate the extent to which the use of Embryosure will increase the chances of successful pregnancy compared to current visual techniques used to select the most viable embryo.
On successful completion of this trial, Medicult will make milestone payments, in cash, shares or combinations thereof, to Novocellus as well as pay royalties on sales. Medicult would commercialise Embryosure itself and through its partner distribution companies worldwide.
