At TechCrunch, I had the opportunity to meet a fascinating team of founders tackling men's fertility through sperm analysis. The eclectic backgrounds of this trio range from a former rocket scientist, a medical doctor to a business consultant. I delved deeper into the story of this intriguing startup with the trio.
The Catalyst for Creation
While at the Harvard School for Public Health, Dr. Bielecki came across a paper that described using smartphone technology and Machine Learning to assess sperm quality. Far from a casual interest, this discovery struck a chord. He and his cofounder Jeyla Sadikova had previously attempted to build a similar technology at their COVID-testing startup but were stymied by the difficulties of constructing a Machine Learning Algorithm without access to quality data. Seeing this new research as the pivotal element they had been missing, they commenced licensing negotiations. Spurred by Jeyla's conviction that 'the sperm thing is a billion-dollar idea,' they initiated licensing negotiations, setting the stage for a venture with immense commercial potential.
Engineering Excellence
While Jeyla Sadikova, a former McKinsey consultant, was leading licensing negotiations, Dr. Bielecki roped in Loup Cordey, an ex-rocket scientist, to craft a device for capturing sperm cell images to be used on ML. Interestingly, Cordey's device employs technology originally developed for detecting extraterrestrial life. Its main advantage is that this optic-less device is lightweight, small and highly robust, giving it an advantage over traditional bulky microscopy systems.
Illumicell's Advantages:
50x faster: Cuts down analysis time from 45 minutes to a mere minute
20x cheaper: No sophisticated lab equipment, technicians and unique consumables
5x smaller: At 4x4inch, Illumicell is also portable and lightweight, allowing to place at any doctor’s desk
Simply put, Illumicell compresses the power of a lab into a small, easy device, allowing any doctor to test sperm at a fraction of the cost.
The company has a dual revenue stream: the device sale and a fee for each test run, utilizing their Machine Learning algorithm. Illumicell's testing checks sperm motility, concentration, and morphology - a standard lab-grade fertility screening. The device's advantage lies in providing rapid, reliable results without the usual lab delays, ensuring greater accuracy than manual tests, and empowering 250,000 doctors in US who presently rely on lab referrals.
Tapping into a Lucrative Market
The men's fertility domain is underserved for various reasons, including societal stigmas, lack of access and misconceptions about fertility issues being predominantly a woman's burden. Nevertheless, with a decline in fertility and increase in the number of IVF clinics globally, the market is a rapidly growing one.
Today, sperm testing is a $200M market. There is a massive supply-demand gap: while about 10% of American men are required to test, many are deterred due to limited facilities. Illumicell is primarily targeting OBGYNs and is keen on expanding to fertility and urology clinics.
They have identified that by providing testing capabilities to OB-GYNs, Urologists and smaller clinics, they can unlock a $1.2B market in the US alone.
Forging Powerful Alliances
Despite being a relatively new player, Illumicell has secured collaborations with big names like BostonIVF, Weill Cornell Medicine, and Harvard Chan. These partnerships benefit clinics by extending their testing capacities beyond their labs, reducing patient drop-offs, and offering faster result turnarounds.
The Vision for the Future
The team's vision is to democratize access to fertility care for millions of men, shifting some fertility responsibility. The strategy is to dominate the fertility space before moving into preventative care, aiming for a presence in primary care clinics (a $5B potential market in the US). Noting that early intervention can reverse 40% of fertility issues in men, the team at Illumicell believes that they have the technology, market knowledge and network to bring their device into every primary care practitioners office and making sperm test as normal as blood check. (A standard in testing for men starting 18)
Final Thoughts
With an impressive start and growing partnerships, both domestic and international, Illumicell is a startup to watch.
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