Monash IVF shares lift as CEO resigns after second embryo mix-up
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More news: Monash IVF shares have jumped after the fertility company announced the resignation of chief executive and managing director Michael Knaap in the wake of a second incorrect embryo transfer.
Shares had gained 7.8% to $0.65 at 12:08pm AEST.
What they said: In a media release, Swinburne bioethicist and public health scientist Dr Evie Kendal said, "the symbolic ‘CEO-sword fall’ after a scandal and significant share price drop has become a staple of the public relations diet".
"The goal is clearly to start the uphill battle of rebuilding public trust and reaffirming the sector's social licence to operate in the highly sensitive area of assisted reproduction.
"However, what many in the community want to see is real change, genuinely independent regulation and consistency when it comes to legislation, with IVF services currently largely regulated on a state-by-state basis."
Monash IVF CEO Michael Knaap resigns amid embryo mix-up fallout
The news: The chief executive and managing director of Monash IVF Group Michael Knaap has resigned, two days after the fertility clinic provider announced the wrong embryo had been transferred to a patient in the second such mix-up this year.
The numbers: Monash IVF shares lost a quarter of their value on Tuesday after the incident was announced. Shares then recovered some of those losses on Wednesday,
The context: On Tuesday morning, Monash IVF revealed it had mistakenly transferred a patient’s own embryo back to themself instead of their partner's embryo, at its Clayton laboratory in Melbourne.
It came after the company announced in February 2025 that it had become aware of another incorrect embryo transfer, which led to a birth, in 2023.
Monash IVF’s chief financial officer and company secretary Malik Jainudeen has been appointed acting chief executive officer.
Knaap was appointed to lead Monash IVF in 2019 and “led the organisation through a period of significant growth and transformation”, according to an announcement to the exchange. He has also resigned from his position on the board.
The board thanked Knaap for his "years of dedicated service".
The source: ASX
