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July 29, 2008

In vitro fertilization device maker uses Beverly as its incubator

By Ethan Forman

BEVERLY — The founders of BioXcell, a Cummings Center medical device startup, say many people mistake the small, curved clear plastic device they make for a salt shaker. It's anything but.

The makers of the Invocell device say it could help simplify in vitro fertilization by bringing part of the process inside the prospective mom. Eggs and sperm are combined in the Invocell then placed within a woman's vaginal cavity for three days. In effect, a woman's body takes the place of a lab.

The three-person startup, founded in January 2007, recently announced it has received the CE Mark "Declaration of Conformity" from the European Union, the continent's equivalent to U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval. The company is getting ready to go to market, and with cash from international sales, it hopes to get FDA approval in 2009.

The device's inventor, Dr. Claude Ranoux, BioXcell's founder, president and chief scientist, Chief Executive Officer Philip "Rusty" Warren, Ph.D., formerly of Geo-Centers of Newton, and Chief Operating Officer Katie Karloff, formerly of Boston Scientific, spoke about the company.

Is this device meant to cut down on multiple births or improve chances of pregnancy?

Ranoux: No. The purpose of that is to cut the cost of in vitro fertilization. ... In the conventional IVF you use a very complex laboratory with a lot of equipment. ... You store the embryo inside the laboratory and you need some CO2 control, you need some air filtration system, you need an alarm system, you need an all-sterile atmosphere and everything like that.

What is the cost comparison?

Ranoux: We have done some study on the cost comparison, and we have evaluated it approximately to be one-third to one-half the cost of conventional IVF.

How much does a typical IVF treatment cost?

Ranoux: It may vary from $6,000 to $10,000 ... for a cycle of IVF in Massachusetts with insurance.

Warren: In the U.S., the average, without third-party care, is about $12,400.

This device would allow couples to have an IVF procedure at one-third the cost because instead of the embryo developing in the lab, it's developing within the mother's body?

Warren: The mother's body becomes the incubator instead of the laboratory.

Does a woman need any hormone treatments when the device is implanted?

Ranoux: It's a low, mild stimulation to get only a few eggs, that means three or four eggs. After the results of that ... two good embryo can be transferred to the uterus.

Why Beverly, why the Cummings Center as a place to do business?

Ranoux: One main advantage is for a startup company, the cost of leasing is really low, compared to other locations. We have a very nice setup in the Cummings Center.

Company: BioXcell

Founded: January 2007

No. of employees: 3

What does it do: Makes a medical device to cut the cost of in vitro fertilization.

Made in the USA: Inventory of 2,000 Invocell devices made at REC Manufacturing Corp. in Hopedale, a maker of molded plastic products.

Business prospects: In discussion with 15 distributors around the world, looking to sell products in three to six months.

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