Myma Medical, a health tech startup developing an automated fertility treatment, has secured an investment of £145,000 from LYVA Labs.
Formed in 2020 as a spinout from the University of Birmingham, Myma Medical has developed the ‘AutoICSI’ system that aims to improve the success rates of IVF treatments.
AutoICSI uses AI-powered cameras to detect the positioning of eggs prior to injection, as well as the shape, size and movement of sperm to ensure the right sample is deployed at the right time.
The company claims that through the AutoICSI system, the number of IVF attempts – which can be costly and have low success rates – can be greatly reduced before a successful attempt is made.
Depending on the treatment, an IVF round can cost as much as £12,000 for a success rate of 54.5% for women younger than 35 and 41.1% for women between 35 and 37, with the rate rapidly dropping after that, according to research from the CDC.
Yash Khandhia, CEO of Myma Medical, said: “The investment from LYVA Labs will allow the company to complete the development of autoICSI and associated AI-based high-definition vision camera system in record time, to get the system ready for full clinical trial and to present it for regulatory approval before commercialisation.”
LYVA Labs previously invested £105,000 into Myma Medical in 2022. The latest cash injection brings the total amount put into Myma by the Liverpool-based investor to £779,000 following long-term support.
Myma Medical has also been granted more than £500,000 across multiple Innovate UK funding schemes.
“They [Myma Medical] are developing a technology that can bring about a step change in the success of fertility treatments and deliver real results for families across the UK,” said Lorna Green, CEO of LYVA Labs.
“Myma Medical is the perfect example of combined authority investment funding working in tangent with national innovation funding, to support a startup to commercialise their innovation and stimulate the regional economy.”