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Fertility

Amy Schumer joins US fertility innovator as investor

Schumer has been vocal about her experience with hyperemesis, endometriosis and IVF

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The actor Amy Schumer has joined TMRW Life Sciences as investor following her own IVF journey.

The American comedian and activist aims to “set a new standard of fertility care” alongside other TMRW backers such as Google Ventures, 5AM Ventures, Transformation Capital and G9 Ventures.

TMRW is the developer behind the only FDA-cleared automated solution able to track, monitor and store frozen eggs and embryos used in IVF with the aim to reduce a majority of the manual, potential points of failure within the current cryogenic process.

“I’m extremely grateful to be a mother, but becoming one was a long and difficult process,” said Schumer, who has been vocal about her experiences with hyperemesis, endometriosis and IVF.

“When I went through IVF, it was physically and emotionally exhausting and there was so much uncertainty. I never thought to ask how my embryos were being managed and stored.

“That’s why I am proud to invest in TMRW. Their technology is transforming the fertility industry, making lab processes safer and more transparent, so patients have one less thing to worry about.”

Since the beginning of human IVF, significant treatment advancements have been made.

However, the organisation and management of frozen eggs and embryos have remained mostly unchanged with many embryologists still performing manual, time-consuming and often error-prone tasks.

TMRW aims provide physicians and patients with more transparency, protection and peace of mind by automating the management and storage of frozen eggs and embryos used in IVF.

“There are a lot of manual steps in the IVF process right now and we’re at a point where we need to standardise these in order to help us figure out how to evolve,” Cynthia Hudson, embryologist and TMRW VP of clinical strategy, told FemTech World.

“We need to make sure that we don’t leave things to chance.”

Tara Comonte, CEO of TMRW, said: “Patients are becoming more educated and informed, asking how their frozen eggs or embryos will be cared for or managed as they go through IVF or freeze their eggs. As an IVF mum, I know first-hand the comfort that increased levels of information and transparency bring.

“Our technology was designed with safety and transparency top of mind, empowering physicians and patients to track, manage and store these precious frozen eggs and embryos at all times.

“We share Amy’s commitment to increasing standards of care and providing as much peace of mind as possible and we’re proud she is joining us in this mission.”

 

Entrepreneur

Future Fertility raises Series A financing to scale AI tools redefining fertility care worldwide

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Future Fertility Inc. has announced the closing of a US$4.1 million Series A financing round.

The round was led by M Ventures (the corporate venture capital arm of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany) and Whitecap Venture Partners, with participation from new investors Sandpiper Ventures, Gaingels, and Jolt VC.

The financing will accelerate Future Fertility’s commercial expansion into Asia-Pacific and support its entry into the United States, including planned FDA 510(k) clearance for additional products as part of a broader U.S. market entry strategy.

Proceeds will also advance the development of a broader AI platform, from egg assessment through to embryo transfer, designed to support clinicians, embryologists, and patients across the full IVF journey.

M Ventures and Whitecap have supported Future Fertility’s mission to translate AI innovation into meaningful clinical outcomes since the company’s earliest stages.

Oliver Hardick, investment director, M Ventures, said: “Future Fertility is addressing a critical unmet need in reproductive medicine with a differentiated AI platform grounded in clinical data and real-world workflow integration.

“We are excited to continue supporting the company and team because we believe its technology has the potential to improve decision-making for clinicians, bring greater clarity to patients, and help advance a more personalised standard of care in fertility treatment.”

Future Fertility’s AI platform addresses a long-standing gap in fertility care: historically, there has been no objective, clinically validated method for assessing egg quality (Gardner et al., 2025), despite it being one of the most important drivers of reproductive success.

The company’s suite of deep learning tools includes VIOLET™, MAGENTA™, and ROSE™, purpose-built for egg freezing, IVF, and egg donation respectively.

The tools are based on AI models trained and validated on more than 650,000 oocyte images and are deployed in over 300 clinics across 35 countries.

Rhiannon Davies, founding and managing partner, Sandpiper Ventures, said:  “The best outcomes in fertility care globally come from better data and smarter tools. Future Fertility understands that, and they’ve built a platform that delivers on it.

“Sandpiper is proud to back a team turning rigorous science into real results for patients and clinicians alike.”

Partnerships with the world’s leading fertility networks – including IVI RMA and Eugin Group across Latin America and Europe, FertGroup Medicina Reproductiva in Brazil, and most recently announced Kato Ladies Clinic in Japan –  reflect growing demand for objective, AI-powered oocyte assessment in fertility care. In the United States, ROSE™ is newly available under an FDA 513(g) determination.

Research shows that approximately 50 per cent of IVF patients do not understand their likelihood of success, and many discontinue treatment prematurely, even though cumulative success rates improve significantly with multiple cycles (McMahon et al., 2024).

By delivering earlier clarity on egg quality, Future Fertility’s tools support more informed conversations between clinicians and patients, helping set realistic expectations and guide decisions about next steps.

Future Fertility’s growing evidence base spans seven peer-reviewed publications in Human Reproduction, Reproductive BioMedicine Online, Fertility & Sterility, and Nature’s Scientific Reports, and more than 70 scientific abstracts accepted and presented with partner clinics at conferences worldwide.

Christine Prada, CEO, Future Fertility, said: “Fertility treatment is one of the most emotionally and physically demanding experiences a person can go through.

“Every patient deserves objective data, not just a best guess, to support better decisions at critical moments in their care.

“This funding means we can bring that clarity to more patients, in more countries, at a moment when it matters most.”

Find out more about Future Fertility at futurefertility.com

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Women’s HealthX confirms exceptional speaker line-up to advance fertility and reproductive care

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By Women’s HealthX

Women’s HealthX has confirmed an outstanding cohort of fertility and reproductive care leaders for its upcoming event, bringing together the senior clinicians, medical directors, and innovators shaping evidence-based practice across hospitals and healthcare systems globally.

Timed to coincide with Infertility Awareness Week, this announcement underscores the event’s commitment to accelerating the adoption of evidence-based innovations in fertility and reproductive medicine.

Find out more about Women’s HealthX

Headline Speaker

Fireside Chat: The Invisible Disease: What Endometriosis Reveals About the Future of Women’s Health

Padma Lakshmi, Co-Founder, Endometriosis Foundation of America

Confirmed Speakers from World-Leading Institutions and confirmed sessions

Training the Next Generation of Fertility HCPs

Alan Penzias, Director, Fellowship Program in Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Shaping the Future of Fertility Care

Lynn Mason, Chief Executive Officer — North America, IVIRMA Global

Ovarian Aging and Reproductive Potential: What Truly Matters

Mark Trolice, Founder & Medical Director, The IVF Center

The Patient Journey Through Fertility Care: Improving Experience & Outcomes

Adam Balen, Chief Medical Officer / Professor of Reproductive Medicine, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Designing Women’s Health Around The Whole Woman: A Life-Course Model for Sustainable Outcomes

Malissa Wood, Chief Medical Officer, Women as One

Prolong Fertility Preservation by Highlighting Ovarian Insufficiency Through Genetic Variant Data Analysis

Julie Rios, Division Director, Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility, UPMC

View all speakers confirmed

What Attendees Will Take Away

How to improve the fertility patient journey and outcomes

  • Ways to detect ovarian aging earlier using genetic insights
  • Strategies to deliver care across the full female life course
  • Approaches to training the next generation of fertility specialists

Women’s HealthX spans seven dedicated stages covering the full lifecycle of women’s health — from fertility and sexual health to maternity and menopause — providing attendees with actionable insights from frontline leaders across hospitals and healthcare systems.

With Chief Medical Officers and senior clinical leaders in attendance, the programme moves beyond discussion into delivery, giving attendees direct access to the latest clinical evidence, emerging digital tools, and real-world outcomes data to support integrated, high-quality care.

REGISTER NOW FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A FREE THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE

Complimentary passes are available for qualified healthcare professionals.

Attendees who register by 15 May will gain full access to all seven stages and a chance to receive a complimentary therapeutic massage at Encore Boston.

Register your complimentary place

For speaking opportunities, partnership enquiries, or further information, please contact the team directly at info@alpahevents.com

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Fertility

Genetic carrier screening before pregnancy: What to know

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Article produced in association with London Pregnancy Clinic and Jeen Health

For the majority of couples planning a pregnancy, genetic testing is not something they think about until a problem arises.

Pre-conception genetic carrier screening challenges this approach by identifying risk before pregnancy begins.

As panel sizes have grown and at-home testing options have become widely available, carrier screening is transitioning from a niche clinical referral into a mainstream component of reproductive planning.

What Carrier Screening Tests For

Being a carrier of a genetic condition means carrying one copy of a variant in a gene associated with that condition, without being affected by it.

In most cases, carriers are entirely unaware of their status.

The clinical significance of carrier status emerges when both members of a couple carry a variant in the same gene: in this scenario, each pregnancy carries a one in four chance of resulting in a child who inherits two copies of the variant and is affected by the condition.

The conditions most frequently included in expanded carrier screening panels include cystic fibrosis, spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), fragile X syndrome, sickle cell disease, and a range of metabolic and enzyme deficiency disorders.

The Beacon 787 carrier test, offered by Jeen Health, screens for 787 conditions from a single sample, making it one of the most comprehensive panels currently available to UK families.

Who Is Most Likely to Benefit

Any couple planning a pregnancy can consider carrier screening. It is particularly relevant for:

  • Couples with a family history of a known inherited condition
  • Those from populations with higher carrier frequencies for specific conditions, including Ashkenazi Jewish, South Asian and African communities
  • Couples pursuing fertility treatment, where genetic information informs treatment planning
  • Those who wish to have the most complete picture of their reproductive health before conception

Importantly, being a carrier of a condition does not mean a child will be affected. It means there is a defined statistical risk that can be quantified, discussed and planned for with appropriate clinical support.

How the Test Is Performed

Carrier screening is typically carried out on a blood or saliva sample.

For at-home options such as the testing offered by Jeen Health, a cheek swab collection kit is dispatched to the patient, the sample is returned by post, and results are delivered digitally within a defined turnaround period.

In-clinic carrier testing may use a blood draw and provides the advantage of immediate access to a clinical consultation at the point of result delivery.

London Pregnancy Clinic offers genetics counselling through its partnership with Jeen Health, allowing couples to receive and contextualise carrier test results with expert support.

Genetic counselling before and after testing is recommended by Genomics England as a standard component of any genomic testing pathway.

What Happens If Both Partners Are Carriers

If both partners are identified as carriers for the same autosomal recessive condition, they are typically offered further counselling to discuss their options.

These may include proceeding naturally with an awareness of the risk, using prenatal diagnosis (CVS or amniocentesis) during pregnancy to test the fetus, or pursuing preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) in the context of IVF, which allows unaffected embryos to be selected before transfer.

The purpose of identifying carrier status before pregnancy is to give couples time to consider these options without the added pressure of an ongoing pregnancy.

Knowledge of carrier status does not remove reproductive choices; it expands the information available when making them.

The Role of Pre-Conception Services

Carrier screening sits within a broader category of pre-conception care that includes fertility assessments, general health optimisation and, where relevant, management of existing conditions before pregnancy begins.

London Pregnancy Clinic offers pre-conception services encompassing fertility investigations, genetics counselling and carrier testing as part of an integrated 0th trimester approach, allowing couples to address genetic and clinical risk factors before their pregnancy starts rather than after.

Disclaimer: This article is produced for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Clinical guidance referenced reflects published NHS, NICE and RCOG standards as at March 2026. Individual circumstances vary; readers are advised to consult a qualified healthcare professional before acting on any information in this article.

This piece was produced in association with London Pregnancy Clinic and Jeen Health, which provided background clinical information for editorial purposes.

Hyperlinks to external sources are included for reference only and do not represent an endorsement of any product, service or organisation.

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