The company that created the world's first test-tube pregnancy in 1973 is in dispute with one third of its IVF doctors who have raised concerns about a culture that could compromise patient care.
Doctors at Monash IVF have demanded a meeting with the board, chaired by Richard Davis, on August 31, following the resignation of two senior embryologists Tiki Osianlis and Maria Diamente.
"When conscientious and committed staff feel they have no other option than to resign from a job they have given so much to, it indicates something is fundamentally wrong," says a letter to the board signed by 29 doctors and obtained by The Australian Financial Review.
"We share their [the embryologists] concerns that… Monash IVF Group seems intent on moving away from what all of us have considered to be core Monash IVF values for a long time."
Associate professor Luk Rombauts, Monash IVF's research director, and associate professor Beverley Vollenhoven, two of the signatories to the letter, also met with the company earlier this month.
It is understood the doctors want to have a more of a role in vetting policies that could impact on patients, be consulted when prices are raised for IVF treatments and stop the hire of new IVF specialists.
As well as the departure of the two embryologists, other complaints include the failure to cover nurses when they go on holiday, and Monash IVF asking nurses to ring patients - who are often regarded as the doctors' patients, rather than Monash's - to find out when they are planning the next IVF cycle.
In an email, Monash IVF chief executive James Thiedeman said "our doctors are a key part of the Monash IVF Group and we work closely and constructively with them on any opportunities and challenges that arise". RELATED QUOTES
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A company spokesman said Monash had the resources and systems in place to ensure commitment to patient care and IVF success.
About 100 doctors work across the Monash IVF Group, which includes Repromed. Sources said part of the problem was the integration of Monash IVF and Repromed, which has a doctor on the Monash IVF board, and noted that one of the embroyologists that had left had been overlooked for the role of group chief scientific officer in favour of Repromed's Dr Michelle Lane.
The meeting on August 31 will coincide with the lifting of the trading restriction for private equity firm Ironbridge Capital's 11.5 million shares.
Some 1.5 million doctor shares will be able to sold from August 27, and a further 1.6 million on August 31.
LONG-TERM CONTRACTS
Doctors are also tied to the company through long-term contracts so are unlikely to leave without incurring a financial loss.
Private equity firms began buying into the sector almost 10 years ago, and since then, Monash IVF and Virtus Health have been floated on the ASX.
At the time, private equity's ownership of the assets raised concerns that scientific research might be compromised as management turned their focus to delivering higher profits, though that did not appear to eventuate.
Monash IVF was bought by Ironbridge in 2009 from ABN Amro. The private equity firm added the business to its stake in South Australian clinic Repromed, and then floated the business in June last year.
About 2 per cent of Monash's shares are being used to short the stock, according to the Australian Securities & Investments Commission.
IVF company earnings are under pressure as Primary Health Care moves into the sector with a bulk-billed offering and the weaker economy means the numbers of patients opting for treatment is falling.
Monash shares closed at $1.19. The stock has not traded above its offer price of $1.85 since it hit a high of $1.905 on Monash's debut.
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