Launch Catch-Up — Funding Announcement Issued October 26 at 6:08 a.m. Eastern
Path Fertility says it has received a two-year, $2 million National Institutes of Health grant to develop and validate a semen-based test for severe male infertility and investigate a possible connection with cancer risk.
The company announced the award October 26. Path Fertility is the commercial brand of Inherent Biosciences, a molecular diagnostics business based in Salt Lake City.
The project concerns non-obstructive azoospermia. According to the announcement, researchers will examine epigenetic changes in MSH5, a DNA-repair gene, through a multisite study. Plans also include studying the marker in 500 colorectal-cancer patients and validating an assay in a CLIA-certified laboratory.
The company identifies the award as a Direct to Phase II Small Business Innovation Research grant from the NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
This is an attributed account of the company’s funding announcement. The work is intended to develop and validate a test; the award does not establish that the proposed diagnostic already works for patients or predicts cancer reliably.
Sources: Inherent Biosciences/Path Fertility — October 26 company release: https://www.newswire.com/news/path-fertility-awarded-2-million-nih-grant-to-develop-epigenetic-test-22877418