S1E4 - AblaCare: It Takes A Village: How AblaCare is Building a Solution to Infertility

Introduction

Meet Anne Osdoit and Marion Gasperment, Partners at MD Start, a world-class medical device incubator (see “MD Start: Building Medtech Companies in Europe,” MedTech Strategist, October 17, 2018), and also performing duo roles as CEO and COO of AblaCare, the sixth company not just incubated, but seed-funded by the multi-faceted accelerator. The Paris-based start-up is developing an innovative device and minimally-invasive procedure for the treatment of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)-related infertility, which they believe would be less risky, less invasive, and less costly than current solutions.

PCOS is one of the most common female endocrine disorders and is thought to be the leading cause of female infertility due to ovulatory dysfunction. Current treatments for PCOS fail to meet clinical and patient need, with first-line drug-based therapies like Clomiphene having significant side effects and a 40% fail rate, second-line tissue ablation options like surgical ovarian drilling which are unpopular due to their invasiveness, and the final, third-line option of  In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), which is costly and brings with it a medicalized pregnancy experience.

Anne and Marion identified AblaCare as a potential solution to a problem that affects roughly one-tenth of all women; saying “AblaCare is a project that we really liked from the beginning because we were leveraging clinical knowledge on a surgical predicate [and] turning this into a minimally invasive procedure, which would then be applicable to many, many more patients and make it into their routine of care.” The new approach builds on the well-established success of surgical ovarian drilling but is less invasive and includes the added benefit of remaining “in the same management pathway as the one they’re in today with their current clinicians.”

The duo is looking forward to “the magnitude of the potential impact [AblaCare] can have for patients” and are hopeful that they “will have a lot of pregnancies derive from our treatment.” Next on the list is finalizing the prototype design, getting full preclinical validation and then working on regulatory approvals all in an effort to get ready for first-in-human, which is planned for early next year.

AblaCare is well on its way to disrupting the stagnant OBGYN space after being selected MedTech Innovator’s 2018 Value Award winner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati’s 26th Annual Medical Device Conference on June 22. As the Value Award winner, AblaCare received a $25,000 non-dilutive cash prize, and a profile in MedTech Strategist (see “AblaCare: Infertility Treatment Made Safer,” MedTech Strategist, August 24, 2018). From the entire MedTech Strategist team, we offer Anne and Marion, and the AblaCare team, congratulations and best of luck. We’ll be in the front row!

WATCH THE SHORT, 7-MIN VIDEO INTERVIEW ABOVE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ANNE AND MARION, AND HOW ABLACARE IS MAKING AN IMPACT ON THE HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY.

Author’s Note: AblaCare attended the MedTech Innovator Pitch Event & Stage Competition that took place this April at MedTech Strategist’s Innovation Summit Dublin, Ireland, a global medical device investment and partnering conference, as a finalist of the program.

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