Fertility center signs deal with firm

A Mount Pleasant company responsible for the first birth in South Carolina using in-vitro fertilization, or IVF, has partnered with a New York-based specialty management company that helps run a network of more than 100 fertility centers nationwide.

Southeastern Fertility Center, which achieved the state's first IVF pregnancy 24 years ago, has joined with Purchase, N.Y.-based IntegraMed America Inc. in a 25-year deal.

Under the terms of the agreement, IntegraMed bought the assets of Southeastern and will provide a variety of services, including marketing, treatment programs for women who wish to get pregnant, and a sophisticated electronic medical records system.

In turn, IntegraMed will be reimbursed for the cost of its services and will receive a fixed percentage of the center's revenue and a fixed amount of its earnings. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The deal was effective April 24.

Southeastern's founder, Dr. Grant Patton, will continue his work with the practice. He said Monday that the arrangement is a partnership and will help provide for the center's future.

IntegraMed became a managing partner but does not own the practice, Patton said.

"I really didn't feel I was giving it up," he said. "The business is expanding and this will help us continue to grow."

Southeastern began its IVF program in 1984. Its first pregnancy was achieved that year and the child was born Feb. 20, 1985 — the first "test tube baby," as the treatment was called at the time, born in South Carolina.

Today, Southeastern also has centers in Columbia and Myrtle Beach, and satellite offices in Wilmington, N.C., and Savannah.

The center is also considered a leader in donor egg technology, and most recently expanded into the area of ovarian tissue cryopreservation and ovarian transplantation.

Those services help women with cancer or other malignant diseases avoid premature ovarian failure, a common side effect of chemotherapy.

Scott Soifer, IntegraMed's senior vice president of strategy and development, said the agreement not only will further the practice but also will help patients.

By joining IntegraMed's national network of infertility specialists, Southeastern can share in a pool of knowledge and research. And patients can choose different treatment programs, such as a multi-cycle plan that increases the probability of pregnancy, Soifer said.

Money is often a key factor in whether to opt for IVF treatment, Soifer said. Many women put themselves under pressure unnecessarily because they feel the treatment is all-or-nothing.

"People think of it on a one-event basis," he said.

Reach Peter Hull at 937-5594 or phull@postandcourier.com.