Ziora

Infertility and subfertility are critical health problems affecting about 11% of women and 9% of men of childbearing age in the United States alone. Since the first successful “Test-Tube” baby in 1978, over 10 million babies have been born using Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART). ART includes such techniques as in vitro fertilization (IVF), intrauterine insemination (IUI), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and embryo transfer techniques. ART is used in humans, and in animals of economic relevance. 

While ART has provided new avenues for treating infertility, its efficacy—especially in achieving live births—remains limited. The limiting factor for successful pregnancies to occur is obtaining good quality preimplantation embryos which have a direct influence on implantation and pregnancy rates. 

Our approach focuses on a novel sperm treatment designed to enhance sperm functionality and epigenetic integrity, with the goal to improve live birth outcomes in human ART. For that purpose, we developed a method called: “Sperm Energy Restriction and Recovery (SER)”—which mimics the natural selective pressures of the female reproductive tract. The general translational objective of our group is to generate new ART technology to improve the outcome of IVF, ICSI and IUI in humans. Our product has the potential to replace current standard media and to revolutionize ART practices worldwide.