As we are approaching the end of the year, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for the contributions you have made to the ReproUnion project. It has been a busy year for all of us and we are happy to see that the hard work has created some really strong results and that the political interest in our achievements is increasing.

We started 2017 by addressing the question on how a better interaction with the life science industry could be achieved. As a result, two seminars were arranged, one directed to private fertility clinics and one the pharma industry. Besides that, in 2017, our collaboration with Ferring Pharmaceuticals has deepened through joint research seminars, enabling ReproUnion’s young researchers to present their research for the industry.

Speaking of ReproYoung, in the beginning of this year, the third ReproYoung Conference was hosted in Båsted, Sweden with more than 90 participants. The 2-days conference also attracted a number of participants from outside of the ReproUnion network. Supporting the next generation of researchers within reproductive medicine, is in my opinion, one of the most important part of the ReproUnion project.

In May, ReproUnion’s Management Unit organized a 2-days conference in Hyllie, Sweden. The topic was “New Trends in Reproductive Medicine: The Bridge between Science and Society” with focus was on scientific excellence. The conference was successful with good interaction and potential collaboration opportunities created with international organizations, as well as, international research institutions from Stanford University, ESHRE and EAU. Connecting ReproUnion with the international research environments and organizations are crucial in order to position the project for the future. The ESHRE/ReproUnion Fellowship program is one good example of such collaboration and currently, we have received 95 applications from all over the world to the program, where four young researchers are currently enrolling in fertility training. In addition, two applicants were accepted by the European Section of Andrological Urology (ESAU) for a one year research study.

Another milestone for 2017 was the signing of a Patient Mobility Agreement between the Capital Region of Denmark and Region Skåne in Sweden. It enables childless couples, with certain types of involuntary infertility, to get treatment in both Malmö and Copenhagen. The agreement involves Skåne University Hospital in Malmö, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev Hospital, Hvidovre Hospital and Bispebjerg Hospital. The agreement is not only important for the patients, it is also a way to illustrate for the three regions how far we can come by working together in the Greater Copenhagen region.

We are now approaching 2018 and this is the last of the three years that the project is financed by the EU. At the Management Unit, we promise to do our best to make the last year with ReproUnion a really good one. One of the most important tasks for next year will be to intensify the work to plan for ReproUnion beyond 2018 and how we can continue to build a foundation for an even stronger partnership for the years to come.
Once again, thank you for your contribution throughout the year to all of ReproUnion.

We would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year!

Kind regards
Petter Hartman,
CEO, Medicon Valley Alliance