First Baby Born with OvaScience's AUGMENT Fertility Treatment
- Innovative Fertility Treatment Developed to Improve Egg Health, a Major Factor in IVF Success -
CAMBRIDGE, MA, May 7, 2015 /CNW/ - OvaScienceSM (NASDAQ: OVAS), a global fertility company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of new treatment options, announced today that one of the first patients who received the AUGMENTSM treatment gave birth to a healthy baby boy in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
"Before my husband and I learned about the AUGMENT treatment, we struggled with infertility due to my egg quality and felt somewhat discouraged," said the mother. "Now we are optimistic that our experience will show couples, especially those who suffer from poor egg health, that they have a new option to have their own biological child."
Egg health is a key factor in female fertility. While many factors contribute to egg health, having adequate levels of energy-producing mitochondria inside of the egg is essential for healthy fertilization and embryo development. The AUGMENT treatment is designed to improve the health of a woman's existing eggs, and enhance the IVF procedure. The AUGMENT treatment uses the energy-producing mitochondria from a woman's own egg precursor (EggPCSM) cells –immature egg cells found in the protective lining of her ovaries – to supplement the existing mitochondria in her eggs. The AUGMENT treatment is not available in the United States.
"You expect to see compromised egg health as women age, but many younger women also have poor egg health for various reasons. I was surprised to discover that the mother's eggs and embryo quality were so poor, despite her 34 years of age," said Marjorie E. Dixon, M.D.C.M., F.R.C.S.(C), Medical Director at First Steps Fertility, Assistant Professor of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the University of Toronto, and the patient's reproductive endocrinologist. "Based on my assessment of significantly diminished embryo quality in a failed IVF cycle and several other factors contributing to her infertility, she had few options. When I learned about the AUGMENT treatment, I was excited to offer this couple a new opportunity to have their own biological child."
"We were the first clinic to offer the AUGMENT treatment in Canada, and I have seen firsthand the positive impact it has on pregnancy rates, particularly in women with poor prognoses," said Robert F. Casper, M.D., F.R.C.S.(C), Senior Investigator, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, and Medical Director of TCART Fertility Partners, where this AUGMENT treatment procedure took place. "The success of IVF depends on many factors; however, most fertility experts agree that egg and embryo quality are key prognostic indicators. The AUGMENT treatment was developed to address egg and embryo quality, and we are pleased to continue providing the AUGMENT treatment to women who are seeking new options."
One in six couples worldwide has trouble getting pregnant naturally. IVF is the standard infertility treatment; however, it often fails. Many physicians believe that poor egg health accounts for the majority of female-related infertility.
"Our mission at OvaScience is to bring new fertility treatment options to women with the goal of helping them build their families," said Michelle Dipp, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of OvaScience. "We look forward to bringing the AUGMENT treatment to more women around the world as well as future treatment options from our egg precursor cell technology."
About the AUGMENTSM Treatment
The AUGMENT treatment is the first fertility treatment available to patients based on OvaScience's proprietary egg precursor (EggPCSM) cell technology. The AUGMENT treatment is designed to improve the health of a woman's existing eggs, and enhance the IVF procedure. The AUGMENT treatment uses energy-producing mitochondria from a woman's own EggPC cells, which are immature egg cells found in the protective lining of the ovaries, to supplement the existing mitochondria in her eggs. This treatment is designed to improve egg health by increasing the eggs' energy levels for embryo development. Egg health is a key factor in IVF success. The AUGMENT treatment is available in select international IVF clinics, and initial positive clinical experiences of pregnancies with the treatment have been reported. The AUGMENT treatment is not available in the United States.
For more information, please visit www.augmenttreatment.com.
About OvaScience
OvaScience (NASDAQ: OVAS) is a global fertility company dedicated to improving treatment options for women around the world. OvaScience is discovering, developing and commercializing new fertility treatments because we believe women deserve more options. Each OvaScience treatment is based on the Company's proprietary technology platform that leverages the breakthrough discovery of egg precursor (EggPCSM) cells – immature egg cells found inside the protective ovarian lining. The AUGMENTSM treatment, a fertility option specifically designed to improve egg health, is available in certain IVF clinics in select international regions outside of the United States. OvaScience is developing the OvaPrimeSM treatment, which could increase a woman's egg reserve, and the OvaTureSM treatment, a potential next-generation IVF treatment that could help a woman produce healthy, young, fertilizable eggs without hormone injections. For more information, please visit www.ovascience.com and connect with us on Twitter and Facebook.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements about the Company's plans for the AUGMENT treatment and two fertility treatments in development. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including risks related to: the possibility that international IVF clinics that we work with may determine not to begin or continue providing the AUGMENT treatment for commercial or other reasons; our expectation that the AUGMENT treatment and OvaPrime treatment meet the requirements of a class of products exempt from premarket review and approval under applicable regulations in those countries where we have launched or plan to introduce the AUGMENT treatment and plan to introduce the OvaPrime treatment; the commercial ramp up of the AUGMENT treatment, which we expect will depend upon the successful transition of ACE clinics to commercial operations, the addition of new ACE clinics, and the results from ACE clinic experience as they become available; the science underlying our treatment and treatments in development (including the AUGMENT, OvaPrime and OvaTure treatments), which is unproven; our ability to obtain regulatory approval where necessary for our potential treatments; our ability to develop our potential treatments, including the OvaPrime and OvaTure treatments, on the timelines we expect, if at all; our ability to commercialize the AUGMENT treatment and our potential treatments, including the OvaPrime treatment, on the timelines we expect, if at all; as well as those risks more fully discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of our most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and/or Annual Report on Form 10-K. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release reflect our current views with respect to future events. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause our views to change. However, while we may elect to update these forward-looking statements in the future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our view as of any date subsequent to the date hereof.
SOURCE OvaScience
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