Merck KGaA Buys PostEra's Oral Fertility Molecule Programs

Merck KGaA has agreed to purchase PostEra's two oral fertility molecules. The deal, worth 'mid-double-digit millions,' marks a significant milestone for the start-up, which shifted its focus to developing drug candidates for fertility and polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS) around a year ago.

The two programs involve a follicle-stimulating hormone receptor agonist for ovary stimulation in in vitro fertilization (IVF), and a luteinizing hormone, choriogonadotropin receptor agonist that stimulates testosterone production in testes and triggers ovulation in ovaries. Both drug candidates are orally administered small molecules, which could potentially start a shift in fertility treatments away from injected drugs.

PostEra's chief scientific officer, Alpha Lee, explained the challenges of turning injectable hormones into pills. 'The status quo in IVF is that women receive a lot of injections,' he said. 'What PostEra has done is be able to create small molecules, orally available, that can stimulate the same receptors that these injections do.'