Ferring to buy fertility biotech Gameto for up to $1.38 billion
Swiss pharma group Ferring Pharmaceuticals has agreed to acquire New York-based Gameto for up to $1.3825 billion (€1.24 billion), gaining a cell-based approach designed to shorten the hormone treatment needed for in vitro fertilization (IVF) and egg freezing.
The maximum value includes development, regulatory and commercial milestones. The companies did not disclose the upfront payment or a closing date. Completion remains subject to closing conditions, and the companies will operate independently until then.
Why it matters: Ferring already sells fertility hormones, including Menopur. Buying Gameto would give it a technology intended to reduce patients’ reliance on prolonged hormonal stimulation by moving egg maturation from the ovaries into the laboratory.
How it works: Conventional IVF typically involves around two weeks of hormone injections before egg retrieval. Gameto’s treatment, called Fertilo, is designed to allow immature eggs to be collected after one to three days of stimulation, potentially reducing side effects and clinic visits.
Fertilo uses induced pluripotent stem cells — reprogrammed cells capable of developing into different cell types — to produce ovarian support cells. These behave like granulosa cells, which help eggs mature inside the ovary. Clinics culture a patient’s immature eggs alongside these engineered support cells to recreate aspects of the ovarian environment. Once mature, the eggs can be fertilized or frozen. The stem cells provide the supporting environment; they do not become the patient’s eggs.
Backstory: Gameto’s technology originated in Harvard geneticist George Church’s laboratory, which also investigated making human eggs from stem cells. Gameto shifted its main focus toward supporting the maturation of existing eggs, a nearer-term application.
That approach builds on in vitro maturation, or IVM, an established technique for maturing eggs outside the body. Fertilo adds engineered support cells to improve the maturation environment.
Reality check: Fertilo remains investigational in the U.S. A Phase 3 study is underway, with planned enrollment of 500 participants. The trial compares Fertilo with conventional IVM culture medium, measuring ongoing pregnancies at 12 weeks. It therefore tests whether the engineered cells improve on standard IVM, rather than directly establishing equivalent outcomes to conventional, fully stimulated IVF.
Gameto says Fertilo is already available in Australia, Argentina, Peru and Mexico, in part due to different regulation around this type of technology.
