In September 2021, Notify Therapeutics joined BioInnovation Institute’s Venture House program with financial support of EUR 1.3M to develop innovative solutions to challenges in infertility, offering a novel approach to fertility treatment targeting the hormone-independent phase of ovarian follicle development.
Only approximately two years later, the company spun out from Professor Karin Lykke Hartmann’s research group at Aarhus University, has received a EUR 5M investment from Lundbeckfonden BioCapital and +ND Capital. The successful conclusion of Notify’s financing marks a pivotal step forward in the company’s mission to provide a novel hormone-free treatment to infertile women who don’t benefit from current treatment options.
“We are stepping into a market that is not well-defined since we are presenting a novel hormone-free treatment to infertile women who don’t benefit from current treatment options. Being first-in-class differentiates Notify from the existing fertility treatments. We have benefitted from access to BII’s network of investors and their contributions to shaping our business case,” says Karin Lykke Hartmann, CEO of Notify Therapeutics.
She adds: “As our business case evolved with our scientific achievements, we attracted interest from fertility stakeholders, investors, and public granting organizations. We are very pleased to receive substantial funding from Grand Solutions and Innobooster. Further, the interest from investors has been immense, and we have made a huge number of pitches during our BII period from which we have learned a lot and further matured the business case.”
Hope for millions of women across the globe
On a global scale, it is estimated that 25 million people in Europe alone are affected by infertility, and around one in six couples of reproductive age have trouble conceiving. In the US, more than 10% of women aged 15-49 seek fertility treatment at some point, around 30% of whom have diminished ovarian reserves.
Women with diminished ovarian reserves usually opt for a donor egg or adoption because in vitro fertilization based on hormone therapy rarely works for them. However, hopes are higher for a new treatment option with the new investment in Notify Therapeutics.
“Raising an investment of EUR 5M from Lundbeckfonden BioCapital and +ND Capital is an important and impressive milestone for Notify Therapeutics to reach, and it has been a true pleasure to support them on their mission of transforming the lives of people struggling with infertility,” says Sanne Brun Jensen, Associate at BioInnovation Institute who anchored the company during its time in the Venture House program.
Read more about BII’s Women’s Health Initiative
Read more about Notify Therapeutics