Virilitas
Company overview
Virilitas Labs is a spinout medtech company from research conducted at the University of East Anglia’s (UEA) School of Biological Sciences. It is addressing male infertility with innovative at-home fertility tests and intervention tools that will provide men with the first step towards understanding their reproductive health.
Virilitas is at the forefront of revolutionising the human fertility industry. Its core mission is to address the profound gaps in male fertility testing and advance the landscape of assisted reproductive technologies.
The challenge
1 in 6 couples struggle to have a baby. In about half of these cases, the issue is related to the man. Traditionally when it comes to infertility options, treatments are mostly directed to women. Male fertility has been disregarded for many decades and is still somewhat a taboo subject.
Challenges in male reproductive health can affect family planning, relationships and overall well-being. Despite the importance of this issue, there has been a limited range of effective solutions. Virilitas aims to provide men with greater control over their reproductive journeys, reducing the pressures and uncertainties that can arise.
In the past half-century, human fertility has faced an unsettling decline, compelling more individuals to seek the help of assisted reproductive technologies (ART). However, the testing landscape has remained largely unchanged, requiring men to navigate the convoluted clinical environment. Meanwhile, treatment options for male infertility have seen minimal evolution since their inception over three decades ago.
Standard methods for assessing sperm health and their application in ART rely on rudimentary technology and parameters, capturing only a fraction of what holds biological significance.
The proposition
Through advanced biochemical testing with smartphone-based analysis and expert-backed digital support, Virilitas is creating a dynamic ecosystem of interventions designed to empower men at every stage of their reproductive journeys.
Virilitas is bringing reproductive medicine into a new era using the latest research knowledge to develop at-home fertility tests and interventional tools for men to use themselves without the need for invasive or inconvenient investigations giving them results in the comfort of their own home with complete anonymity.
What next?
Virilitas is currently running a number of validation trials to further test and refine its kits to make them ready for market.
Virilitas has raised funding from numerous competitive grants and equity investment from Anglia Capital Group and is looking for a further investment to apply for regulatory approval. It has received significant interest from the NHS in the UK as well as several pharmaceutical companies and healthcare providers in the UK, Europe, Singapore and Middle East.
Timeline
2023
- Virilitas starts as a spinout from UEA and enrols on the ICURe (Innovation and Commercialisation of Research) programme
- Virilitas is an Innovation Hothouse competition finalist and becomes a virtual tenant
- Virilitas secures AIP Pre-Seed Enterprise Funds to develop its proof of principle test
2024
- Virilitas is announced as winners of two awards at the Cambridge Tech Week People’s Choice Award
- Virilitas secures grant funding from the Medical Research Council to further optimise the testing device
2025
- Virilitas Labs selected for Innovate UK’s Singapore innovation programme
- Virilitas secures equity investment led by Anglia Capital Group to develop further IP and build a digital companion app
- Virilitas files patent to protect the innovation
- Virilitas receives numerous letters of intent from partners across the public and private sector