NEW YORK, Dec. 19, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Today, Celmatix, the next-generation women's health company, announced the launch of Celmatix Biosciences. The new division will leverage the company's Reproductive Atlas™ program to power genomics- and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven therapeutic discovery in areas of women's health with high unmet needs such as reproductive conditions and menopause. This announcement represents Celmatix's first in-house foray into therapeutics and a significant leap forward for an industry where investment in developing novel treatments for women's health conditions has lagged compared to investment in other diseases. The division's lead program is focused on delaying ovarian failure, a process that occurs naturally during the menopause transition but can also occur prematurely and have a devastating effect on a woman's fertility and overall health. It is also focused on developing innovative solutions for endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
High Unmet Needs in Women's Health
It is estimated that premature decline in ovarian function impacts one-in-50 women in the U.S. due to premature ovarian insufficiency (POI, also known as premature menopause), diminished ovarian reserve (DOR), and cancer treatment during or before reproductive age. Virtually all women undergo menopause by the age of 60, with most experiencing it by age 51. Current strategies for managing ovarian failure and the difficulties associated with the menopause transition are focused on preserving fertility through egg freezing when possible for women still desiring to have their own genetic offspring and through hormone replacement therapy. There are, however, no current therapeutic options for slowing or reversing the underlying condition of ovarian failure. Beyond the impact on a woman's fertility potential, conditions such as osteoporosis, Alzheimer's, and cardiovascular disease have all been linked to age of menopause. There are currently no strategies for women who may want to mitigate health risk factors or quality of life concerns through delaying the menopause transition. This becomes an even bigger problem as more women wait until their 30s and 40s to start their families.
Celmatix Biosciences' lead program leverages insights the company has generated into the molecular events triggering the rapid decline in ovarian reserve, often referred to as the "fertility cliff," that precedes menopause. Other in-house programs focus on developing targeted interventions for endometriosis and PCOS, which can lead to infertility and together impact an estimated one-in-five women globally. Like ovarian failure, current strategies for managing these conditions center on fertility treatments and addressing symptoms like painful or irregular periods rather than treating the underlying condition.
Genomic Medicine for Women
Women's health therapeutics represent a large market, estimated to be worth $32B by 2020 based on a consensus of reports from BCC Research and GBI Research, with high unmet needs driven by large patient populations in complex specialty diseases like endometriosis and PCOS. Despite being an excellent indicator of a woman's overall health and future risk factors, reproductive health research gets comparatively low funding, leading to a sluggish pipeline of new drugs and what many perceive as an over-reliance on oral contraceptives as a panacea for a wide variety of reproductive conditions. The post-genomic era has transformed other areas of medicine; in oncology, for example, the emergence of precision medicine has proven revolutionary for patients, with targeted treatments that produce fewer side effects and better outcomes. Women's health has not, however, been impacted in the same way by genomic insights.
"A lack of adequate public and private sector funding for women's health has hampered innovation in the space," said Linda C. Giudice, MD, PhD, Distinguished Professor and the Robert B. Jaffe MD Endowed Professor in the Reproductive Sciences in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), as well as a member of the Celmatix Scientific Advisory Board. "Over the last decade of groundbreaking research, Celmatix has been developing an unprecedented understanding of female reproductive function by leveraging both clinical data science and genomics. It is from this same intersection of clinical and genomic data that major advances in cancer treatment arose. It makes sense, therefore, that as a leader in women's health genomics, Celmatix has launched a division to power advances in treatments for women's health conditions. As a physician and a woman, I can also say that a strategy for better controlling the menopause transition would have many possible applications and could be as transformative for the field as the contraceptive pill was in the middle of the last century."
"Next-generation women deserve next-generation therapies that are made specifically with their unique biology in mind from the beginning," said Piraye Yurttas Beim, PhD, founder and CEO of Celmatix. "We are proud of our accomplishments over the last decade in bringing better data and insights about reproductive health to women and their physicians. With Celmatix Biosciences, we want to build on that success to expand the actions women can take once they learn they are at risk. Women want to be proactive, but their options are often limited, especially for women at risk for premature menopause. We believe we can change that and also demonstrate to pharmaceutical companies that there are great rewards to be had for focusing on the needs of women."
For more information on Celmatix Biosciences, including partnership opportunities, please visit http://www.celmatixbiosciences.com.
About Celmatix Inc.
Celmatix is a next-generation women's health company transforming care through genomics and big data. Founded in 2009 and based in New York City, the company's research-driven products include the Fertilome® test, the world's first multigene panel test that reveals what a woman's DNA says about her reproductive health, Polaris®, a real-time predictive analytics platform that helps physicians optimize patient outcomes and improve the patient experience, and MyFertility Compass™, a free educational tool that gives women who are currently trying to conceive insights into their fertility potential. In 2018, the company launched Celmatix Biosciences, an AI-driven research-stage biotech division focused on the development of next-generation therapeutics.
SOURCE Celmatix
Share this article