Bayer and CrossBay Medical to Develop Intrauterine System Inserter

Bayer and CrossBay Medical Inc. have forged a development and option to license agreement to develop a single-handed inserter to be combined with Bayer’s hormonal intrauterine system (IUS) portfolio.
 
The partnership will help further develop and expand CrossBay’s existing CrossGlide technology, which could potentially improve the intrauterine placement experience by limiting and reducing the discomfort some women may experience during IUS insertion. By removing these steps, the inserter also has the potential to reduce procedure time necessary for healthcare professionals.
 
“As a leader in women’s healthcare, we are committed to further drive innovation for women worldwide that addresses their unmet medical needs,” said Juergen Eckhardt, M.D., a member of Bayer Pharmaceuticals Division’s Executive Committee and head of Business Development, Licensing & Open Innovation. “Partnering with CrossBay Medical has the potential to offer women an opportunity to consider the full range of contraceptive options available.”

Pairing CrossBay’s technology with Bayer’s IUS portfolio will also result in adapting the manufacturing process and industrialization of the CrossGlide technology, building on Bayer’s expertise in the field specifically at the company’s production site in Turku, Finland.
 
“We invented CrossGlide to help improve the insertion experience by creating a flexible system that follows the shape of a woman’s cervix. By doing this, we created a new paradigm for office-based procedures for both, women and healthcare providers,” CrossBay Medical Founder/CEO Piush Vidyarthi stated. “We are partnering with Bayer as we believe more women will be better served using the CrossGlide technology and therefore provided one of the most effective birth control options for consideration.”
 
Women’s Health is in Bayer’s DNA. Bayer offers a wide range of effective short- and long-acting birth control methods as well as therapies for menopause management and gynecological diseases. Bayer is also focusing on options to address the unmet medical needs of women worldwide and to broadening treatment choices such as in menopause. Additionally, Bayer intends to provide 100 million women annually in low-and-middle income countries by 2030 with access to family planning by funding multi-stakeholder aid programs and by ensuring the supply of affordable modern contraceptives. This is part of the comprehensive sustainability measures and commitments from 2020 onwards and in line with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.
 
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of healthcare and nutrition. Bayer is committed to driving sustainable development and generating a positive impact with its businesses. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. In fiscal 2022, the Group employed around 101,000 people and reported €50.7 billion in sales. R&D expenses before special items amounted to €6.2 billion. 
 
CrossBay Medical seeks to modernize gynecological care and has developed solutions and products based on the patented CrossGlide technology across a wide array of gynecological applications. CrossBay continues to engage strategic partnerships to deliver innovations to clinicians for serving women with advanced procedural ease and efficiency.