OvaScienceSM (NASDAQ: OVAS), a global life sciences company
focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of new
fertility treatments, today announced the Company has achieved its 2014
corporate goals to advance the AUGMENTSM, OvaPrimeSM
and OvaTureSM treatments for patients in need of new
fertility treatment options.
“We are pleased to report that we have successfully matured human egg
precursor cells into eggs in vitro. This is a major milestone for
the first potential hormone-free fertility option, the OvaTure
treatment. We have achieved this by designing an autologous, high
throughput in vitro system, which we believe will accelerate
further development of the OvaTure treatment, the only hormone-free
fertility option,” said Michelle Dipp, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive
Officer of OvaScience.
AUGMENT Treatment
The AUGMENT fertility treatment is
available in select in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics in
Canada, the United Kingdom (UK), the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and
Turkey. The AUGMENT treatment is not available in the United States.
OvaScience has a further commitment from one of the largest IVF clinic
networks in Japan, which plans to offer the treatment in 2015. For
further information, please visit the new AUGMENT treatment website at www.augmenttreatment.com.
The AUGMENT treatment is specifically designed to improve egg health by
using mitochondria from a patient’s own egg precursor (EggPCSM)
cells during IVF. Improved egg health may offer the potential for better
IVF success. OvaScience exceeded its AUGMENT patient treatment goal with
more than 150 patients now receiving the treatment. The Company has
started transitioning some of the IVF clinics to commercial centers.
OvaPrime Treatment
The OvaPrime treatment is a potential new
fertility treatment that uses EggPC cells to increase a woman’s egg
reserve. The OvaPrime treatment may provide an option for women who do
not produce enough or any high-quality eggs. OvaScience plans to
optimize the process and introduce the OvaPrime treatment in certain IVF
clinics in select international regions outside of the United States by
the end of 2015.
As anticipated, OvaScience has performed additional preclinical
proof-of-concept work for the OvaPrime treatment that supports
previously published research, which demonstrated that EggPC cells can
mature into eggs in the ovary (in vivo).
OvaTure Treatment
The OvaTure treatment is a potential
next-generation IVF treatment that could help a woman produce healthy,
young, fertilizable eggs without the need for hormone injections. The
Company is the first to demonstrate that human EggPC cells can be
matured into eggs outside of the body, and therefore has achieved human
preclinical proof-of-concept with the OvaTure treatment. This is a major
step toward being able to offer women with compromised eggs, who are
unable to make eggs, or who may be unwilling or unable to undergo
hormone hyperstimulation, a new treatment option.
“Our ability to demonstrate additional proof-of-concept for the OvaPrime
and OvaTure treatments underscores the potential of our EggPC technology
for developing new fertility treatments,” said Arthur Tzianabos, Ph.D.,
President of OvaScience. “We look forward to being able to provide women
with more treatment options that may improve egg health and,
importantly, would not require hormones.”
OvaScience Investor Day
The Company is hosting an Investor
Day today, Wednesday, December 17, 2014 in New York beginning at 8:00
a.m. The event will feature presentations by guest speakers and Company
management on the EggPC cell technology and the global fertility market
as well as an update on OvaScience’s fertility treatments. A live audio
webcast can be accessed by visiting the Investors section of the
Company’s website at www.ovascience.com.
A replay of the webcast will be archived on the OvaScience website for
two weeks following the presentation.
About OvaScience
OvaScience (NASDAQ: OVAS) is a global life
sciences company dedicated to improving fertility 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 (i) plans for a launch of
the AUGMENT treatment in Japan in 2015, (ii) plans to optimize the
OvaPrime treatment and introduce it in select IVF clinics outside the
United States by the end of 2015, (iii) plans to provide women with more
treatment options that may improve egg health and not require hormones,
and (iv) plans and treatment possibilities for the AUGMENT treatment and
its 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, including
the IVF clinic in Japan that plans to offer the AUGMENT treatment in
2015, 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 science underlying our treatment and treatments in
development (including the AUGMENT, OvaPrime and OvaTure
treatments), which is unproven; our ability to obtain regulatory
approval as necessary for our internationally launched fertility
treatment and our potential fertility treatments; our ability to develop
our potential fertility treatments, including the AUGMENT treatment,
OvaPrime treatment and OvaTure treatment, on the timelines we expect, if
at all; our ability to commercialize our treatments, including the
AUGMENT treatment and 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 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.
Copyright Business Wire 2014