Memphasys Limited (ASX: MEM) has appointed Laureate Professor John Aitken, who heads Memphasys’ Scientific Advisory Committee, to the newly created position of Research Director.
In this role he will oversee the evaluation and development of a range of assisted reproductive biotechnology productsas well as supporting the full commercial development of the company’s Felix device, a novel automated device for quickly and gently separating high quality sperm from a semen sample for use in human IVF procedures
The employment of Professor Aitken by the company, which will be for a time commitment of 50%, follows his retirement from the position of Distinguished Laureate Professor of Biological Sciences within the School of Environmental and Life Sciences at the University of Newcastle on 30thJune 2021.
Post retirement, Professor Aitken will also assume the lifetime title of Distinguished Emeritus Laureate Professor of Biological Sciences at University of Newcastle where he will maintain access to the university laboratory and research staff to enable him to continue his ground-breaking work with Memphasys.
In addition to the employment of Professor Aitken, who co-developed the Felix Device (in pre- commercialisation phase), Memphasys has increased its research and development capacity at University of Newcastle to support the evaluation and development of a range of assisted reproductive biotechnology products.
On behalf of my fellow directors and our shareholders, I am thrilled that Memphasys is appointing Professor Aitken as Research Director. He is a globally recognised expert in reproductive biology and is the top ranked world expert in spermatozoa and the biology of fertilisation,” Memphasys Executive Chairman, Alison Coutts, said.
“Professor Aitken sees the significant value in our cell separation technology and the Felix device, which separates high quality sperm for IVF processes. He has also assisted us to assemble a portfolio of additional novel reproductive biotechnology products which are being undertaken in collaboration with his research team at the University of Newcastle.
“Professor Aitken’s role as our Research Director will be to assist us in the technical development and eventual commercialisation of these products as well as to assist us with the full commercial development of our Felix device.”
In 2012, Professor Aitken was named as NSW Scientist-of-the-year and in 2016 was presented with the prestigious Carl G. Hartman Award for reproductive biology. This award is one of the most prestigious international accolades in reproductive science and, at the time of the award, Professor Aitken was only the second researcher working outside of North America to have been honoured with this distinction. More recently, Professor Aitken was also awarded the 2021 Distinguished Andrologist award by the American Society of Andrology (ASA).
Memphasys Limited is focused on reproductive biotechnology and proprietary cell separation techniques. It is developing novel medical devices, diagnostics, and media with application to assisted reproduction technologies, including IVF in humans and artificial insemination in animals.
