AHH-owned Nova IVF Fertility is expanding its presence in Kerala through the strategic acquisition of Craft Fertility, a 30-year-old and widely trusted fertility care provider. Through this collaboration, the organisations plan to launch 10 new fertility centres across the state over the next three to five years, combining Nova’s growth momentum with Craft’s longstanding clinical expertise to deliver advanced fertility care.
Strengthening Growth Through Strategic Integration
This acquisition marks another significant step in Nova IVF Fertility’s expansion journey. By integrating advanced IVF laboratory capabilities, international standards of care, and AI-driven embryology technologies, the partnership aims to enhance treatment precision and improve clinical outcomes for couples seeking fertility support.
Consequently, patients in Kerala are expected to benefit from a broader range of technology-driven fertility solutions and specialised reproductive care services.
Leveraging Decades of Clinical Expertise
Highlighting the importance of the collaboration, Vishal Bali, Executive Chairman, Asia Healthcare Holdings (AHH), emphasised the value of Craft Fertility’s clinical legacy.
“Craft Fertility is a treasure trove of clinical excellence. Dr Ashraf has made phenomenal contributions to this field for more than 40 years. This partnership represents not only Nova’s entry into Kerala but also access to four decades of transformative clinical practices in reproductive medicine. As reproductive science advances rapidly worldwide, the strong clinical and patient-centric approach followed by both organisations will help bring further innovations to fertility and IVF care in India.”
Addressing Kerala’s Declining Fertility Rate
As per the press release, the partnership comes at a time when Kerala’s fertility rate has declined to approximately 1.35–1.7 children per woman, significantly below the replacement level of 2.1.
Commenting on this trend, Prof. Dr. C. Mohamed Ashraf, Chairman and Medical Director, CRAFT Hospital & Research Centre, highlighted the need to expand access to quality fertility care.
“Since 1999, CRAFT Fertility has remained committed to providing ethical and evidence-based care to thousands of couples. Our partnership with Nova IVF is built on a shared ethos of clinical excellence. As the fastest-growing IVF chain in India, Nova is the ideal partner to help us scale quality fertility services to tier 2 and tier 3 regions of Kerala. Together, we will also focus on clinical innovations and strengthen collaboration through our fellowship programmes.”
Expanding Advanced Fertility Care Across the State
Echoing similar sentiments, Shobhit Agarwal, CEO of Nova IVF Fertility, noted the significance of partnering with Craft Fertility.
“We have long admired Craft Fertility and Dr Ashraf for their leadership in reproductive science. Their IVF treatment protocols are highly respected across the country, and we are delighted to collaborate with them as we expand in Kerala. With declining fertility rates in the state, awareness about fertility treatments is steadily increasing. Through this partnership, we aim to introduce next-generation clinical protocols and technologies, including AI-based embryo selection, to IVF patients in Kerala. Together, we plan to expand our presence across 10 cities in the state.”
Growing Adoption of IVF in India
India currently performs approximately 2.5 to 3 lakh IVF cycles each year. Over the past decade, IVF treatment in the country has evolved significantly, transitioning from a niche medical service to a more accessible, technology-driven solution for infertility.
Advances in Reproductive Medicine
Recent advancements in reproductive medicine have played a critical role in improving IVF success rates. Innovations such as enhanced embryo culture techniques, vitrification (egg and embryo freezing), preimplantation genetic testing (PGT), and AI-led embryo selection have transformed fertility treatments.
As a result, fertility care is becoming increasingly personalised, with treatment protocols tailored to individual patient profiles. This shift toward customised care is helping clinicians deliver better clinical outcomes and improved patient experiences.