ASX-listed reproductive biotechnology company Memphasys has received a tick of approval for its sperm separation device, Felix, in an article published by a leading medical magazine specialising in male reproductive and urological issues.
The Felix System is Memphasys’ trademarked bio-separation device that separates “high-quality” sperm from semen for in vitro fertilisation, or “IVF” procedures.
The company says no other sperm separation method offers the same combination of speed and quality of isolated sperm. Felix can process semen samples in six minutes whilst other methods take up to 60 minutes, it argues.
Felix is also said to be the first automated sperm separation method for preparing non-DNA damaged sperm samples for IVF clinics.
For the paper, scientists in France studied 29 human semen samples and compared them after preparation by Felix and a traditional sperm preparation procedure known as density gradient centrifugation. They concluded Felix “significantly improved” sperm fractions with higher motility and less DNA damage.
A “sperm fraction” is the amount of sperm that is separated from the original amount of sperm.
“These improved sperm parameters, along with the fact that the Felix separation process is very fast and highly standardised, should be of great interest to the assisted reproduction technologies industry,” the authors stated.
The article was contained in medical magazine Andrology, published by the American Society of Andrology and the European Academy of Andrology.
For 2023, Memphasys is prioritising projects with the highest and quickest commercial returns and the company lists three priorities: Felix, a rapid oxidative stress assay, or “ROSA” and AI-Port.
ROSA is a test Memphasys is developing to measure the level of antioxidants in semen and blood to assess the presence of oxidative stress.
Al-Port addresses the issue of storing and transporting animal semen for artificial insemination, with huge potential in the beef industry especially. Memphasys is in discussions to hold a field trial to compare its prototype with the standard freeze/thaw procedure currently used for cattle pregnancies.
The Felix System has an estimated addressable market size of almost $700 million for just four markets – Europe, China, Japan and India. However, regulatory and insurance industry changes in India and Japan respectively have altered Memphasys’ interaction with its potential customer base.
It now seems likely that the Sydney-based bio-tech will investigate manufacturing its sperm separation device in India, instead of exporting to that country.
Memphasys believes this option would likely reduce costs, negate import duties and might expedite the granting of a licence for Felix from India’s regulator, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation.
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By Matt Birney
