UK-based biotech firm U-Ploid has announced results from its first preclinical study of Lyvanta (UP-085), revealing an 84.3% reduction in age-related chromosomal separation errors in eggs from older mice. The findings were presented at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) annual meeting in San Antonio.
The company’s therapy, Lyvanta, targets meiotic aneuploidy, a condition in which eggs develop with an abnormal number of chromosomes. This genetic error affects more than half of eggs in women aged over 33 and is the leading cause of infertility and miscarriage in this demographic.
In the study, aged mouse oocytes treated with Lyvanta showed rates of premature chromatid separation similar to those in younger control groups. The share of eggs without chromosomal errors rose by nearly 20 percentage points compared with untreated aged oocytes.
“Presenting our first Lyvanta data at ASRM marks a major milestone for U-Ploid,” said Dr Jordan Abdi, Co-Founder and CEO. “These findings represent a significant step towards translating our work into clinical applications that could improve fertility outcomes for women of advanced maternal age.”
Age-related decline in egg quality typically results from errors in chromosome segregation during meiosis. As women age, oocytes increasingly fail to divide chromosomes accurately, producing embryos with chromosomal abnormalities that often prevent successful development.
Lyvanta acts by targeting the molecular mechanisms responsible for chromosome separation during egg maturation. It represents the first pharmaceutical approach designed to address the root cause of age-related fertility decline, rather than attempting to work around it through selection or assisted reproductive technologies.
“Our data provide clear proof-of-concept that pharmacologic intervention can reduce age-related meiotic errors,” said Dr Alex Webster, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer. “We are excited to discuss these results with the reproductive medicine community.”
The research team, including Dr Alex Webster, Dr Eirini Bellou, Professor Alison Campbell of Care Fertility, and Dr Chloe Charalambous, shared the study in a presentation titled “Preclinical testing of a novel therapeutic for reduction of aneuploidy in oocytes.”
The results arrive as global demand for fertility services continues to grow, with more women delaying childbirth due to social and professional factors. Current treatments such as IVF remain limited in their ability to address chromosomal abnormalities, often requiring several costly and time-intensive cycles with declining success rates as maternal age rises.
U-Ploid’s approach aims to improve egg quality at the cellular level, potentially increasing the effectiveness of IVF and reducing the number of treatment cycles needed for older women.
The company has yet to confirm timelines for human clinical trials or outline its regulatory pathway. The ASRM presentation marks the first public disclosure of Lyvanta’s efficacy data, positioning U-Ploid as a potential frontrunner in next-generation fertility therapeutics.
The ASRM annual meeting is one of the world’s leading reproductive medicine conferences, bringing together scientists, clinicians, and industry experts to present innovations in fertility research and technology.
