Midven finds fertile investment territory
A WARWICKSHIRE company specialising in fertility diagnosis and treatment has received a seven figure sum from investors – including Midven’s Exceed Fund, the Angel CoFund and Envestors Limited.
Warwick Technology Park-based Fertilty Focus says the money will be instrumental in helping it expand.
The investment comes shortly after the international publication of successful trial results and the European launch of the company’s OvuSense product.
OvuSense is a fertility monitor that accurately identifies and predicts a woman’s fertile period to help couples trying to conceive. It is also able to detect the absence of ovulation and is winning favour with clinicians as a tool to assist in the early diagnosis of fertility issues.
The company is obtaining approval for the product to be used in the United States and the investment will help complete that process and the roll-out of products around the world.
Robert Milnes, CEO of Fertility Focus, said: “This funding opens a new chapter for the company and its products. It will help us expand our team in direct territories and greatly widen the marketing support we can provide throughout our sales channels.
The need for such fertility services is self-evident. Milnes said the average age at which couples have their first child had “risen dramatically” in recent years mainly due to couples choosing to establish careers before starting a family.
“The shift towards having children later in life means that, on average, around 35% of women are now unable to conceive within 12 months,” he said.
OvuSense takes multiple recordings of the body’s core temperature during sleep, providing highly accurate data that gives women who are trying to conceive much greater understanding and control of their fertility.
In addition to Midven’s Exceed Fund, which remains the company’s largest shareholder, other funding came from new angel investors including the Angel CoFund and a further investment by Norgenix, the company’s strategic partner and US distributor.
Julie Newman, executive director at Midven, said: “This is an exciting time for Fertility Focus, which was formed in 2005 with a mission to halve the time and cost to pregnancy for infertile couples.
“The company has developed two unique and innovative products and the prospects – in the US and across the world – are very considerable indeed.”
