ReproUnion Summit: From regional lighthouse to shared responsibility

Last week’s Summit demonstrated how ReproUnion has become one of the most influential public private partnerships in reproductive health - a true flagship for the Øresund region and beyond. Throughout the day, one message was clear: continued cross border collaboration is not just valuable - it is essential in the fight against infertility.

With strong regional roots and growing national relevance, ReproUnion clearly shows what can be achieved when research, healthcare and industry collaborate across borders - for patients, for science and for society. In his “What’s next” talk, Professor Aleksander Giwercman highlighted how ReproUnion has, over more than a decade, moved from vision to proof. A key question is now how to secure leadership, strategic direction and long term anchoring as the 2023–2026 project period, funded by Interreg ÖKS, comes to a close - a question that is equally crucial for the ReproUnion Biobank & Infertility Cohort (RUBIC), now a unique research infrastructure. An interview with clinicians Ida Behrendt Møller (Hvidovre Hospital) and Laura Smidt Hansen (Rigshospitalet) brought forward perspectives from some of the 2,500 couples currently included in RUBIC. Their insights reminded us that behind every dataset is a real couple making a conscious choice - often without immediate personal benefit - to contribute to research that can help future women and men affected by involuntary childlessness. Further presentations showed how RUBIC enables research far beyond IVF outcomes, linking fertility to long term health, prevention, psychosocial care and innovation. As underlined by Niels Jørgensen (Rigshospitalet), RUBIC opens new possibilities for understanding fertility as part of lifelong health for both men and women. The Summit concluded with the panel “Carrying the torch forward: From regional lighthouse to national responsibility”, where Anette Steenberg, CEO of Medicon Valley Alliance, highlighted the importance of protecting and growing the critical mass of excellence built across borders - and ensuring that Denmark and Sweden continue to move forward together in developing innovative solutions to diagnose, treat and prevent infertility. Medicon Valley Alliance is the project managing partner of ReproUnion, working closely with ten other partners across the Øresund region, including hospitals and universities in Region Hovedstaden and Region Skåne, and Ferring Pharmaceuticals. Find out more: www.reprounion.eu