The Centre of Male Infertility and Analysis of Barcelona (CIMAB), a spin-off of the Autonomous University of Barcelona and CataloniaBio & HealthTech member, has closed a deal with Israeli company MFC to distribute its Sperm VD device, which more efficiently stores sperm for fertility treatments, in Spain and Portugal.

What sets this device apart from current cryopreservation methods used for sperm is that “it provides a suitable solution in cases of severe masculine infertility, as it can cryopreserve even very small numbers of sperm,” highlights Dr Agustí Garcia, general manager of CIMAB.

More than 70 million couples all over the world have to turn to assisted reproduction technology, such as intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), intrauterine insemination (IUI) and in vitro fertilisation (IVF). In nearly 50% of cases, the problem is attributed to issues in the male partner. The frequency of male infertility is driving the growing need to find solutions to improve the results of these procedures.

The agreement between CIMAB and MFC will be announced this October at the Congress of the Asociación para el Estudio de la Biología de la Reproducción (ASEBIR) in Cáceres.

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