Ferring to acquire IVF startup Gameto for up to $1.4 billion

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

Standard in vitro fertilization starts with two weeks of daily hormone injections—28 shots to stimulate the ovaries into producing mature eggs. Gameto's Fertilo technology grows eggs outside the body using stem cell-derived support cells, shrinking that injection window to two or three days. Swiss drugmaker Ferring Pharmaceuticals signed a deal on October 27 to buy Gameto for up to $1.38 billion.

The acquisition is striking because Ferring sells several hormone-injection products that Fertilo could make largely unnecessary, including Menopur. Fertilo is already cleared in Australia and parts of Latin America, where five babies have been born using it. US Phase 3 trials are still recruiting, and the deal's final value depends on regulatory and commercial milestones.

Why it matters

If Fertilo wins US approval, IVF patients could trade two weeks of daily hormone injections for a three-day cycle, changing the standard of care.

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Key Indicators

$1.38B

Deal value (up to, including milestones)

Total consideration including development, regulatory, and commercial milestones.

$127M

Total funding raised by Gameto since 2020

Across multiple funding rounds before the Ferring deal.

~80%

Reduction in hormone injections with Fertilo

Fertilo matures eggs outside the body, cutting injections from 14 days of shots to 2–3 days.

Babies born via Fertilo as of August 2026

From a study of 40 patients in Mexico and Peru, with 20-plus pregnancies reported.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

People Involved

Dina Turner

Co-founder and chief executive of Gameto

Leading Gameto through the Ferring acquisition

Martin Varsavsky

Founder and backer of Gameto

Announced the sale; previously built five companies worth over $1 billion

Jean-Frédéric Paulsen

Chairman and chief executive of Ferring Pharmaceuticals

Led the Gameto acquisition

Christian Kramme

Co-founder of Gameto

Co-developed Fertilo's cell-engineering technology

Organizations Involved

Ferring Pharmaceuticals

Pharmaceutical company

Acquirer of Gameto

Privately held Swiss drugmaker that markets fertility medicines including Menopur, Rekovelle, and Bravelle.

Gameto

Biotechnology startup

Acquisition target of Ferring

Austin-based biotech developing cell-engineering treatments for fertility and menopause.

Timeline

2020 October 2026

5 events Latest: Today

Tap a bar to jump to that date

October 2026
Ferring signs $1.38B deal to buy Gameto
Today Acquisition

Swiss drugmaker Ferring agrees to acquire Gameto for up to $1.38 billion, gaining its Fertilo IVF technology.
Today
August 2026
Fertilo study data shows five births
Clinical data

Mexico and Peru study reports five babies and more than 20 pregnancies using Fertilo.
August 2026
2025
Gameto raises $44 million
Funding

New funding to advance the stem cell-based IVF treatment toward US Phase 3 trials.
2025
December 2024
First baby born via Fertilo
Clinical milestone

First baby conceived through Fertilo's maturation method is born in Lima, Peru.
December 2024
2020
Gameto founded in Austin
Company founding

Dina Turner and Christian Kramme launch the biotech with backing from Martin Varsavsky.
2020

Scenarios

Ferring closes Gameto deal, Fertilo heads to FDA

Likely Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: BioPharma Dive, Bloomberg

Ferring completes the acquisition under customary closing conditions within the next year. Gameto finishes its US Phase 3 trial, with Varsavsky saying about 180 patients remain. If the data holds, Ferring files for FDA approval and Fertilo could enter the US market, the world's largest IVF market.

Fertilo wins FDA approval and launches in the US

Possible Resolves by End of 2028

Discussed by: Jean-Frédéric Paulsen (Ferring CEO), Gameto leadership

Beyond the deal closing, the long-term question is whether US regulators clear Fertilo. The Phase 3 trial needs roughly 180 more patients, followed by a data review. If approved, Fertilo would compete directly with the hormone-stimulation drugs Ferring currently sells—a portfolio the company is betting the new technology will partly replace.

Ferring-Gameto deal terminated before closing

Unlikely Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: Standard M&A closing risk noted in the deal's own terms

The agreement is subject to customary closing conditions, which can include regulatory review and shareholder approvals. If those conditions fail—or if either party walks away—the deal unwinds. A separate risk: if Phase 3 data disappoints, milestone payments shrink and the deal's value falls well below the announced cap.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

March 2009

Roche acquires Genentech (2009)

Roche bought the 44 percent of Genentech it did not already own for about $46.8 billion, ending months of negotiation. Genentech had pioneered monoclonal antibody drugs, including the cancer treatments Avastin and Herceptin, and its scientists drove much of Roche's oncology pipeline.

Then

Genentech became a fully owned Roche subsidiary, with its R&D operation staying in South San Francisco.

Now

The deal locked in Roche's lead in biologic medicines and became the model for big pharma buying biotech innovation instead of building it internally.

Why this matters now

Like Ferring with Gameto, Roche paid for outside science it could not quickly replicate in-house.

April 2012

Facebook acquires Instagram (2012)

Facebook agreed to buy Instagram for about $1 billion in cash and stock, weeks before Instagram passed 30 million iOS users. The photo app was pulling younger users away from Facebook's core product, and Facebook chose to absorb the threat.

Then

Instagram kept running as a separate app and grew into one of the world's largest social platforms.

Now

It became the standard example of an incumbent buying a disruptive competitor to protect its core business.

Why this matters now

Ferring is making the same bet: it sells the hormone injections that Fertilo could make less necessary, so it is buying the technology rather than defending its existing product.