Is there an underlying genetic predictor for infertility? New York precision medicine startup Celmatix argues yes, and is using a big data- and genomics-driven approach to help women “optimize” their fertility – using predictive modeling to better understand a woman’s potential to conceive.
Celmatix just raised $5.5 million, according to a regulatory filing. It’s raised about $13 million in total since its 2009 launch – largely from private equity firm Topspin Partners and an assortment of angel investors.
Understanding the causes of infertility is of great importance to many – in the U.S. alone, 6.7 million women have difficulty getting pregnant, according to the CDC.
Celmatix’s lead product, Polaris, was developed to calculate a woman’s likelihood of success using different fertility treatment options. Its web-based modeling generates a side-by-side comparison of a patient’s likelihood to conceive with timed intercourse, non-IVF and IVF.
Next year it’ll launch Polaris X, a companion genetic diagnostic for the Polaris platform that shows subclinical factors that impact fertility. The Celmatix researchers have found some interesting things – such as the fact that up to 25 percent of IVF patients discontinue treatment even though they still have a good chance of conceiving. Celmatix researchers have also found that mutations that lead to degeneration of egg quality are the main reason that IVF fails.
Celmatix has a number of partnerships in place – such as with Washington University in St. Louis, University of Connecticut and a number of reproductive medicine clinics in Michigan, Pennsylvania and New York.
