Ovo Labs, a fertility technology startup founded by Professor Melina Schuh and Dr. Agata Zielinska, has secured £4 million in seed funding to advance their approach to improving egg quality in women over 35. The investment was led by LocalGlobe and Creator Fund and will accelerate the company’s path to clinical trials with IVF clinics.
The fertility tech company has developed therapeutics that address declining egg quality with age, specifically targeting the increasing rate of genetic errors in eggs as women age. Their technology has shown promising results in enhancing the quality of unfertilized human eggs ex vivo, potentially increasing the chances of successful conception through IVF.
“Ovo Labs’ mission is to make the dream of parenthood a reality for millions of couples who struggle to conceive. By helping to increase the number of viable eggs, we aim to extend the reproductive window, empowering more couples to have children at a time that feels right to them. Ovo Labs’ technology also offers a potential solution for declining birth rates, which is a trend observed in many countries worldwide,” said Professor Melina Schuh, Ovo Labs Co-Founder & Scientific Advisor.
The biological reality of fertility decline presents significant challenges. By age 40, over 70% of a woman’s eggs carry genetic abnormalities, making conception considerably more difficult. Standard IVF treatment fails for approximately 8 out of 10 women in their late 30s, leaving tens of millions of couples annually unable to start families.
Ovo Labs’ technology builds on research conducted by Prof. Schuh at the Max Planck Institute. She is joined by co-founder Dr. Agata Zielinska, a Polish-British fertility scientist with experience from the NHS and the Francis Crick Institute. The third team member is Dr. Oleksandr Yagensky, a biologist-turned-strategy consultant from Bain & Company in Germany.
Using advanced microscopes and molecular tools, Schuh and Zielinska conducted studies on young and older eggs at Bourn Hall Clinic, the world’s first IVF center. Their research not only identified why egg quality declines with age but developed therapeutic approaches to address the issue.
The technology developed by Ovo Labs has been proven to reduce genetic errors in eggs (aneuploidy), thereby increasing the number of viable eggs that can be used in fertility treatment. Their therapeutic approach is designed to be integrated into existing IVF protocols without additional burden to patients.
The funding round included participation from Blue Wire Capital, Ahren Innovation Capital, and Antonio Pellicer, founder of the world’s largest chain of IVF clinics. This positions Ovo Labs to advance their therapeutics toward clinical trials.
Jamie Macfarlane who co-led the deal from Creator Fund, added: “This company has been twenty years in the making. It is the product of decades of pioneering scientific work to understand the origin of human life and why age impacts our ability to reproduce. It is inspiring to see European scientists of this calibre launch a company solving such a fundamental question facing humanity. We believe that the science at the heart of this business has the potential to change whether, when and how couples have children.”
Current IVF approaches often require multiple cycles with low success rates, creating both emotional and financial challenges for patients. Emma Phillips, Investment Partner, Local Globe, who co-led the investment, also said: “Women and couples deserve better odds of IVF success, which Ovo Labs delivers. LocalGlobe is thrilled to support this team of world leading scientists tackling the core challenges of fertility with groundbreaking solutions”
Ovo Labs operates facilities in both London and Munich, with product development conducted at the Life Science Factory in Munich. The company has already demonstrated improved egg quality in older mice models and has successfully treated isolated human eggs. They have secured intellectual property protection for their technology.
For women facing age-related fertility challenges, Ovo Labs’ work represents a potential advancement in fertility treatment options. Their technology could address both individual fertility challenges and potentially contribute to addressing declining birth rates observed globally.
