Gedeon Richter acquires Celmatix discovery portfolio in women's health expansion
The deal covers several early-stage drug programmes built around ovarian biology.
Hungarian pharmaceutical group Gedeon Richter has acquired the women’s health drug discovery portfolio of US biotech Celmatix, in a move that strengthens its push into fertility, endometriosis and ovarian ageing.
The deal covers several early-stage drug programmes built around ovarian biology.
The most prominent is a first-in-class pill designed to stimulate the follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) receptor — potentially offering a tablet alternative to injectable hormones used in IVF and other fertility treatments.
Richter is also acquiring a non-hormonal drug candidate for endometriosis aimed at reducing inflammation as well as pain, and experimental antibody programmes targeting anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), which plays a central role in regulating ovarian follicles.
“For too long, women’s health has been overlooked and despite medical progress, women are left with major unmet medical needs,” said Dr Péter Turek, head of Richter’s women’s healthcare business unit.
“By advancing research in key therapeutic areas of women’s health such as endometriosis, ovarian ageing and infertility, we are strengthening our pipeline… with the ambition to become a thought leader in women’s healthcare.”
Piraye Yurttas Beim, founder and chief executive of Celmatix, said the company’s work has focused on three priorities: preserving ovarian function, treating endometriosis at its root, and reshaping fertility care.
“Women need all their organs, including their ovaries, to function well throughout their lifespan,” she said.
“Expanding ovarian function across the lifespan, addressing endometriosis at its root rather than managing symptoms, and pioneering a paradigm shift in the therapeutic treatment of infertility have been foundational pillars of our work.”
Beim has previously described the company’s ovarian biology research as part of a longer-term ambition to extend ovarian healthspan — a concept that includes the possibility of delaying menopause — although the acquired programmes remain at a preclinical stage.
Under the agreement, Celmatix will receive an upfront payment and future milestone payments as the drugs progress. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Development of the newly acquired programmes will be led from Richter’s women’s health R&D hub in Belgium.
Founded in 1901 and headquartered in Hungary, Richter reported sales of €2.3bn in 2025 and has identified women’s health as one of its core strategic growth areas.
This news comes just weeks after Gedeon Richter announced it was also signing a deal with Swiss biotech FimmCyte to develop a potential endometriosis antibody.