Gameto announces world first as baby is born from eggs matured outside of the body
Baby delivered in Peru
Female-led biotech company Gameto has announced the world’s first live human birth using ‘Fertilo’, its technology that matures eggs outside the body. The delivery was conducted at Santa Isabel Clinic, in Lima, Peru.
Traditional IVF can take an incredible emotional and physical toll. It relies on nearly two weeks’ worth of injections to help stimulate hormones and mature eggs.
Instead, Fertilo recreates the egg maturation process in a lab setting using engineered ovarian support cells (OSCs).
This replaces up to 80% of the hormone injections required with traditional IVF and reduces treatment cycles to just three days. The result is a more comfortable and less invasive experience for patients.
Dr. Dina Radenkovic, CEO and co-founder of Gameto said:
“By overcoming the major challenges of conventional IVF, such as long treatment cycles, significant side effects, and the emotional and physical strain, Fertilo provides a potentially faster, safer, and more accessible solution for families. This milestone marks a turning point in reproductive health and highlights the first application of iPSC technology in IVF and the immense potential of our technology.”
Promise for IVF outcomes
By maturing eggs outside the body and minimizing hormonal stimulation, Gameto is also improving outcomes and experiences for women going through assisted reproduction technology (ART).
This is the first demonstration of an end-to-end process by which a therapy developed from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) has the potential to improve IVF outcomes and advance women’s health. Co-culturing immature eggs with Gameto’s proprietary engineered, young, ovarian support cells (OSCs) has shown promising results to date, with the potential for higher rates of egg maturation and embryo formation.
The result is a streamlined process that yields high-quality, mature eggs with similar efficacy to conventional IVF but in a fraction of the time and with potentially fewer complications.
Dr. Luis Guzmán, Lead at Pranor Labs & Science, who oversaw the Fertilo-enabled IVF cycle that enabled the first live birth, said:
“This breakthrough represents a historic milestone in reproductive medicine.“
“The ability to mature eggs outside the body with minimal hormonal intervention significantly reduces risks such as ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome and alleviates the side effects caused by high hormone doses. Fertilo is a major advancement for women who cannot tolerate or do not want to undergo the burden of the traditional IVF protocol, bringing hope and new possibilities to a broader patient population.”
The mother of the first baby born using Fertilo, who is unnamed to date, said:
“The Fertilo method was the preferred option compared to traditional approaches. With fewer injections and a gentler, less invasive egg retrieval process, it gave me hope and reassurance during a deeply personal journey. Fertilo’s innovative approach made the physical experience easier and also lightened the emotional burden of many hormone injections. I am profoundly grateful to the Pranor Clinic and the Gameto team for their care and dedication in making my dream of having a family a reality.”
Rapid expansion planned
Gameto is rapidly expanding the availability of Fertilo and has secured regulatory clearance in key markets such as Australia, Japan, Argentina, Paraguay, Mexico, and Peru.
Recently, the company announced a strategic partnership with IVFAustralia, a leading IVF clinic chain and part of the Virtus Health group, one of the top five global providers of assisted reproductive services. In the US, the company is preparing for Phase 3 trials.