Merck Serono, the Swiss-based biopharmaceutical division of Germany's Merck KGaA, has signed an exclusive license agreement with U.S. reproductive medicine specialist Auxogyn of Menlo Park, California to help commercialize Auxogyn's proprietary Early Embryo Viability Assessment (Eeva) Test.

Financial details of the arrangement were not disclosed. Under its terms, Merck Serono will obtain exclusive rights to commercialize the test in Europe and Canada, with the option to extend to selected countries and regions. Auxogyn will retain exclusive rights in the U.S. market. 

Merck Serono's relationship with Auxogyn dates to 2012 when its corporate venture capital fund, MS Ventures, sealed a strategic partnership with the California company on the Eeva Test.

Used adjunctively to traditional morphology, the non-invasive diagnostic tool utilizes time-lapse imaging and computer software to help reproductive endocrinologists and embryologists assess embryo development and viability.

The new agreement further underscores the company's commitment to fertility treatment, said Dorothea Wenzel, head of the global business franchise Fertility at Merck Serono. Employing Merck's established commercial expertise will accelerate the availability of the Eeva Test in key international markets, added Lissa Goldenstein, president and CEO of Auxogyn.