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

Swiss drugmaker Ferring Pharmaceuticals agreed to buy fertility startup Gameto in a deal worth up to $1.4 billion, including undisclosed upfront payments plus development, regulatory and sales milestones. Gameto's Fertilo uses stem cell-derived ovarian support cells to mature eggs outside the body; it is cleared in Australia and parts of Latin America and in Phase 3 in the U.S.

Why it matters: Fertilo could shorten IVF cycles to as little as three days, bolstering Ferring's reproductive-medicine portfolio.