Fertilo | Gameto

IVF and egg freezing are onerous, expensive, and unpleasant

During IVF or egg freezing, women are subject to invasive and expensive procedures, including nearly two weeks of hormone injections, which are associated with frequent complications, side effects, and risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.

IVF has been a success story of science, but the fertility drug market is an archaic industry. It has been over 20 years since the approval of a novel mechanism to treat infertility.

The average success rate of IVF is ~27%

Making IVF and egg freezing shorter, safer, and more effective.

Maturing oocytes outside of the body could reduce the need for hormonal injections and render all retrieved oocytes viable. Fertilo may facilitate this by maturing and increasing the quality of oocytes outside of the body, resulting in a solution that:

Is more natural

Requires lower hormonal load

Lowers risk of complications

Has higher success rates

Reduces overall cost

By making these processes easier and less expensive, Fertilo could lower barriers to adoption of IVF and egg freezing, protecting against future ovarian decline.

Fertilo, in-depth

Fertilo is a biologic that treats oocytes outside of the body, increasing maturation rates and oocyte quality to improve IVF and egg freezing outcomes.

Fertilo’s Process

Fertilo works by mimicking the oocyte maturation process that occurs naturally in the ovary. Immature oocytes are co-cultured with Fertilo for 24 hours after extraction. This co-culture provides the support needed for these oocytes to mature into ovum ready for fertilization.

Technology

Fertilo is derived from an engineered line of ovarian supporting cells that aid egg maturation. This cell line was developed by reprogramming human-induced pluripotent stem cells into critical ovarian cell types.

Comparison to Traditional IVF

By recapitulating the natural ovarian environment in the lab, we could perform the majority of IVF in vitro. Fertilo will allow patients to undergo only 2 – 4 days of hormonal stimulation, protecting women from the burden and risk of systemic ovarian overstimulation.
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Current Stage

Fertilo is currently undergoing preclinical studies measuring the maturation rates of immature oocytes and quality of matured oocytes compared to control mechanisms of in vitro maturation. We are conducting these studies in partnership with fertility clinics in the US and abroad.