Courtesy of Benzinga.
OvaScienceSM (NASDAQ: OVAS), a life sciences company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of female fertility treatments, today announced the issuance of two United States patents covering its AUGMENTSM fertility treatment. AUGMENT is based on the Company’s egg precursor cell (EggPCSM) technology and is being developed to improve egg quality and the success of in vitro fertilization (IVF). AUGMENT will be available in international IVF clinics this year.
“The new patents strengthen and extend the protection for AUGMENT in support of our efforts to offer a potential new fertility treatment option to women and families,” said Michelle Dipp, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of OvaScience. “We continue to aggressively pursue additional patents covering our EggPC technology and related fertility applications throughout the world.”
The issuance of these two patents builds upon the Company’s Composition of Matter patent on EggPCs, and provides further protection for AUGMENT through at least 2032. The newly issued patents broadly cover the AUGMENT process, including: IVF by AUGMENT; preparing an egg for use with assisted reproductive technologies (ART); and increasing the energy-generating capacity of an egg by AUGMENT.
OvaScience plans to introduce AUGMENT this year through an international program called ‘ACE’ or AUGMENT Centers of Excellence, which will enable physicians to gain experience using AUGMENT and generate data. The Company expects to establish ACE clinics in at least four international regions and record 40 to 60 AUGMENT cycles in 2014. These IVF clinics in the ACE program will transition to commercial centers by year end. As part AUGMENT, mitochondria (or ‘energy’) from a woman’s EggPCs found in her ovaries are added to her mature egg at the time of fertilization during an IVF cycle.
About OvaScience
OvaScience (NASDAQ: OVAS) is a life sciences company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of new fertility treatments. The Company’s patented technology is based on the discovery of egg precursor cells (EggPCSM), which are found in the ovaries. By applying proprietary technology to identify and purify EggPCs, OvaScience is developing potential next generation in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments. The Company currently has three fertility treatments in development: AUGMENTSM, which aims to improve egg quality and increase the success of IVF; OvaPrimeSM, designed to boost a woman’s egg reserve using her own EggPCs; and OvaTureSM, which seeks to create mature fertilizable eggs from a woman’s own EggPCs without the need for hormone injections. OvaScience’s team of scientists, physicians and advisers includes recognized leaders in the field of reproductive medicine. 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 prospects for the Company’s technology in addressing female infertility, the Company’s strategy, future plans and prospects, and the development and commercialization of the Company’s product candidates, including statements regarding the Company’s plans to introduce AUGMENT in international ACE clinics in at least four international regions with a goal of 40 to 60 cycles in 2014 and plans to transition these clinics to commercial centers. Any statement in this release about our strategy, plans, prospects and future expectations, financial position and operations, and other statements containing the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “target,” ”aim,” “potential,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “continue,” and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements for the purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including risks related to: our expectations regarding the regulatory approvals required for AUGMENT outside of the United States and our expectation that AUGMENT meets the requirements of a class of products exempt from premarket review and approval under applicable regulations in those countries where we plan to introduce AUGMENT in ACE clinics; the science underlying our product candidates (including AUGMENT, OvaPrime and OvaTure), which is unproven; our ability to obtain, maintain and protect intellectual property utilized by our products; our ability to obtain additional funding to support our activities; our dependence on third parties, including our dependence on Intrexon Corporation; the successful development of, and ability to obtain regulatory approval for, our product candidates; our ability to develop our product candidates, including AUGMENT, OvaPrime and OvaTure, on the timelines we expect, if at all; our ability to commercialize our product candidates, including AUGMENT and OvaPrime, on the timelines we expect, if at all; competition from others; and our short operating history; 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.
