Biotechnology firm Gameto has raised $44 million in a Series C funding round led by Overwater Ventures, pushing forward its work on stem cell-derived reproductive health treatments. This latest round brings the company’s total funding to $127 million, placing it among the most well-backed names in reproductive biotech.
The capital will be used to complete Phase 3 trials of Gameto’s lead treatment, Fertilo. The therapy uses engineered ovarian support cells created from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to mature eggs outside the body, potentially shortening IVF ovarian stimulation from the usual two weeks of hormone injections to just two or three days.
Fertilo already has clearance in several international markets, including Peru, Mexico, Australia, Japan, India, Singapore and multiple Latin American countries. So far, five babies have been born using the technology, with over 20 pregnancies reported.
The ongoing Phase 3 study is officially named the Fertilo In Vitro Research Study and Trial (FIRST). It is the first randomized, controlled, double-blind trial in the US to assess ex vivo egg maturation. Up to 20 US sites are expected to take part, including Shady Grove Fertility, with Columbia University and Prelude Fertility due to join later.
“This is a defining moment for Gameto and for our broader mission of advancing women’s and family health,” said Dr. Dina Radenkovic Turner, CEO and co-founder of Gameto. “With this fundraising round we are now positioned to complete our robust Phase 3 trial of Fertilo and evaluate its safety and efficacy across leading U.S. study sites. Fertilo In Vitro Research Study and Trial (FIRST)1 is the first randomized, controlled, double-blind trial to evaluate the maturation of eggs outside the body in the U.S., despite this technique’s decades of clinical use, as well as the first to explore stem cell technology in IVF. This funding enables us to advance and expand our pipeline of next-generation therapeutics and solidify our position as an emerging biopharma innovator in a field that remains deeply underserved, underresearched, and ripe for modernization.”
Fertilo is notable as the first iPSC-derived therapy to reach late-stage clinical development in the US, building on the Nobel Prize-winning technology developed by Shinya Yamanaka in 2012.
“We believe Gameto has the potential to drive the biggest transformation in women’s health since the birth control pill,” said Kristina Simmons, Founder and Managing Partner at Overwater Ventures. “We have yet to see another company with the rare combination of determination, breakthrough science, and the potential to create a strong consumer brand in biotech. At Overwater, we invest in category-defining technology, and few areas of healthcare are more overdue for reinvention than female biology itself. The implications and impact go far beyond reproduction. This is why we’ve written our largest check to date.”
Gameto is also working on menopause-focused therapies under its Ameno programme, which recently secured funding from ARPA-H through the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research. This work includes an implantable cell therapy and a hormone-delivering vaginal ring.
The company expects an interim readout from its Phase 3 trial in late 2026. Gameto was co-founded by Dr. Radenkovic Turner and Martin Varsavsky, founder of the Inception Prelude fertility network.
