Article preview from Start-Up - April, 2012
In the field of assisted reproductive technologies, only incremental advances have been made since the first in vitro fertilization procedure in 1978. Now OvaScience has a breakthrough product that addresses the single largest barrier preventing older women from getting pregnant: poor egg quality. With two programs based on a newly discovered cell type, the company has a technology that’s disruptive, proprietary and highly differentiated. OvaScience raised $37 million in its Series B round in April.
Article preview from Start-Up - April, 2012
The world’s first test-tube baby was born in 1978, and for that breakthrough Robert Edwards, PhD, emeritus professor of human reproduction at the University of Cambridge and the developer of in vitro fertilization (IVF), was awarded a Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2010. But since that major advance, there have been only incremental changes in the field of assisted reproductive medicine, and only modest improvements in the success rate of IVF, which is 20% for women age 38 to 40 and 5 to 10% for women age 41 and older.
At the same time, demand for assisted reproductive technologies has grown. In the US, seven million couples struggle with infertility, and in developed countries across the world, 10% of women of childbearing age experience infertility. Assisted reproduction represents an enormous potential market for medtech companies with gynecology devices, pharmaceutical companies with infertility drugs and companies working in cell therapy. But it is a sector that is still waiting for technologies that will improve the odds for success.
Venture capitalists are aware that effective technologies will help grow the market, and they’re investing in the space. Three infertility companies were funded within the past month. But only one of them, OvaScience, has a technology that can truly be described as breakthrough, which is why it was able to raise $37 million in a Series B round in April 2012, provided by General Catalyst, Bessemer Venture Partners, Longwood Fund, BBT Capital Management, Cycad Group, Hunt BioVentures, RA Capital and a global institutional investor.The company has raised $43 million since it was founded last year.
Continued...
To read this article in its entirety, purchase now as a PDF and receive it immediately via email. Or get it FREE when you subscribe to Start-Up.
About Start-Up
No publication reviews leading edge companies and technology better than Start-Up. Each issue of Start-Up profiles the most important new product companies, identifies the hottest technology areas, reviews funds flowing into private companies and investment trends, and reports on university tech transfer licensing. Industries covered: pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical equipment & devices, and in vitro diagnostics.
Plus:
To find out about more about more about Elsevier Business Intelligence's medical device publications and databases, multi-user access and/or advertising with Medical Devices Today, please contact Kristy Kennedy at (480) 985-9512
Comments