The Barcelona biotechnology company Oxolife has been working for years with the molecule OXO-001, which is intended to reduce female infertility by improving embryo implantation in in vitro fertilization processes and achieving higher pregnancy success rates. The molecule acts directly on the uterus, more specifically, on the endometrium, to better prepare it and reduce embryo losses after implantation.
One of the company's founders, Agnès Arbat, argues that if they prove its effectiveness, they will solve an unmet medical need that affects millions of women worldwide. Specifically, more than three million assisted reproduction procedures are performed each year, but more than half do not successfully complete embryo implantation. According to Arbat, Spain is the country where the most in vitro fertilization cycles are performed in all of Europe.
The treatment that this Barcelona company is developing is administered daily orally for three menstrual cycles and does not contain hormones. The Oxilife tablet has already passed preclinical trials, as well as clinical trials in healthy patients. Currently, the company is immersed in the second phase of the clinical trial, which is being tested on patients who are having difficulty getting pregnant.
The Oxilife tablet has already passed preclinical trials, as well as clinical trials in healthy patientsThe study, already underway, will be conducted with a total of 351 women who are undergoing assisted reproduction processes in clinics in Spain, the Czech Republic, and Poland.70% of them will be doing so in Spain, where more than ten centers will participate. In Barcelona, it will be tested at IVI Barcelona, Hospital Universitario Dexeus, and Hospital Universitario Quirónsalud. The company is finishing recruiting all study participants.
This second phase of the clinical trial is expected to conclude in 2023, after monitoring pregnancies and babies for six months after birth. A final trial must then be conducted. If all procedures are successfully completed, they estimate that their drug could be commercialized by 2028.
Oxolife closed a five-million-euro round in June 2020, led by Inveready and with the participation of the Center for Industrial Technological Development (CDTI) and BStartup, among other investors. With these resources, it has been able to cover the second phase of the clinical trial and, for now, they do not contemplate a new round, says Arbat. The company does plan to seek funding between 2022 and 2023 to finance a second line of research, which is in the preclinical phase and is focused on polycystic ovaries.
Since its founding in 2013, the company has raised around eight million euros, complementing the 2020 round with funds received from the Government and Europe. Arbat, along with the other co-founder, Ignasi Canals, used their savings to start the project, with 150,000 euros. Canals and Arbat met working in the pharmaceutical industry, but in 2018 they decided to focus on Oxolife.
Located in the Parc Científic de Barcelona (PCB), the biotech has a staff of six employees. If the research line on polycystic ovaries advances, they plan to hire more employees.