A major breakthrough for in vitro fertilization (IVF) fertility treatment has been announced by the University of Adelaide in Australia. Researchers have developed a product which improves IVF embryo implantation rates for some women by up to 40 per cent.
The culmination of two decades of research by Professor Sarah Robertson, the development of EmbryoGen is based on the role of growth factors in healthy pregnancies and exploring how they would apply in IVF.
EmbryoGen contains a signalling molecule that is found naturally in the mother’s tissues, which protects the embryo from stress, making it stronger and more robust in the early implantation period.
A clinical trial with 1,319 patients showed an average 20 per cent improved implantation rate at 12 weeks, and for women who had previously miscarried, there was a 40 per cent increase in implantation success.
The product will be available on the market in May 2011 in Europe and the Middle East, and in 2012 the United States. There is no mention of a date for Canada yet.