Pinned Tweet
An important milestone for @OverwaterVC's portfolio company, @GametoGen. Today, Gameto and Ferring Pharmaceuticals have signed an agreement for a proposed acquisition of up to $1.38B. Congratulations to @drdinaturner, @martinvars, and the entire team! bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
5
2
33
3,522
Kristina Simmons retweeted
Ferring Pharma, one of the biggest sellers of fertility drugs used in IVF, plans to acquire the ovary-in-a-dish startup Gameto for up to $1.38B.
Gameto has made iPSC-derived ovarian support cells that help mature human eggs in the lab. Read more @endpts: endpoints.news/ferring-to-acq…
Gameto has made iPSC-derived ovarian support cells that help mature human eggs in the lab. Read more @endpts: endpoints.news/ferring-to-acq…
0
9
32
7,837
Kristina Simmons retweeted
In vitro fertilization was invented in the 1970's by Robert Edwards, and its purpose is to create babies in an embryology lab. In the last fifty years, IVF has become a $30B global industry, and I expect it to grow to a $1 Trillion global industry in the next 5-7 years.
Gameto, a company that marginally improves the IVF experience by reducing hormone injections from 10 days to just 2-3 days, was acquired today by Ferring (a manufacturer of IVF drugs) for ~$1.4B.
I predict that these three technology pillars, which radically change "the embryo" and the experience, will drive the growth of the IVF market:
1) Selecting and narrowing down to the best available embryos (smallest but immediate opportunity): Genetic testing of embryos to discard the embryos that have a disease predisposition, chromosomal abnormalities. Implant the best and most healthy embryos, and sometimes optimize for height and IQ (e.g. Herasight, Orchid, Nucleus). The problem is that most couples are working with a small and limited number of embryos to start with.
2) Increasing the quality and number of embryos: Gene editing of embryos to correct genetic disease or make embryos protected against disease, to make more embryos usable instead of discarding them (what we do at Origin Genomics). There is a multi trillion dollar market for diseases with hereditary causes and no cures or no affordable treatments (e.g. hereditary cancers, alzheimer's, sickle cell, cystic fibrosis, tay-sachs, huntington's). One gene edit at the embryo stage can remove that disease risk for life. And in vitro gametogenesis, early tech that aims to make eggs and embryos from stem cells derived from skin cells (e.g. Conception), highly relevant for older women wanting to have kids and gay couples, but have significant cultural and regulatory hurdles to clear.
3) Improving the general experience (purposely broad for this context): Gameto (acquired for $1.4B) reduces the hormone injection period from 10 days to just 2-3 days by maturing eggs outside the body (called in vitro maturation, IVM). Artificial wombs and surrogacy fall into this general category as well, though artificial wombs are in very very early days and surrogacy has scalability issues. If artificial wombs work, surrogacy will be less relevant. But I predict it's still at least 10 years away. Certain inflection points could accelerate this timeline, such as the fertility crisis, and a space race to Mars to populate and develop a human civilization fit to survive there.
My prediction of the industry timeline:
Genetic testing of embryos (available now)
Shorter hormone stimulation protocols (e.g. IVM), marginal ways to improve the current experience (available now)
Gene editing of embryos (technology is available now, implementation soon)
IVG (5-10+ years)
Artificial Wombs (10+ years)
The next ten years of IVF will look very different from the last fifty. This is the industry that rewrites human reproduction and evolution.
Gameto, a company that marginally improves the IVF experience by reducing hormone injections from 10 days to just 2-3 days, was acquired today by Ferring (a manufacturer of IVF drugs) for ~$1.4B.
I predict that these three technology pillars, which radically change "the embryo" and the experience, will drive the growth of the IVF market:
1) Selecting and narrowing down to the best available embryos (smallest but immediate opportunity): Genetic testing of embryos to discard the embryos that have a disease predisposition, chromosomal abnormalities. Implant the best and most healthy embryos, and sometimes optimize for height and IQ (e.g. Herasight, Orchid, Nucleus). The problem is that most couples are working with a small and limited number of embryos to start with.
2) Increasing the quality and number of embryos: Gene editing of embryos to correct genetic disease or make embryos protected against disease, to make more embryos usable instead of discarding them (what we do at Origin Genomics). There is a multi trillion dollar market for diseases with hereditary causes and no cures or no affordable treatments (e.g. hereditary cancers, alzheimer's, sickle cell, cystic fibrosis, tay-sachs, huntington's). One gene edit at the embryo stage can remove that disease risk for life. And in vitro gametogenesis, early tech that aims to make eggs and embryos from stem cells derived from skin cells (e.g. Conception), highly relevant for older women wanting to have kids and gay couples, but have significant cultural and regulatory hurdles to clear.
3) Improving the general experience (purposely broad for this context): Gameto (acquired for $1.4B) reduces the hormone injection period from 10 days to just 2-3 days by maturing eggs outside the body (called in vitro maturation, IVM). Artificial wombs and surrogacy fall into this general category as well, though artificial wombs are in very very early days and surrogacy has scalability issues. If artificial wombs work, surrogacy will be less relevant. But I predict it's still at least 10 years away. Certain inflection points could accelerate this timeline, such as the fertility crisis, and a space race to Mars to populate and develop a human civilization fit to survive there.
My prediction of the industry timeline:
Genetic testing of embryos (available now)
Shorter hormone stimulation protocols (e.g. IVM), marginal ways to improve the current experience (available now)
Gene editing of embryos (technology is available now, implementation soon)
IVG (5-10+ years)
Artificial Wombs (10+ years)
The next ten years of IVF will look very different from the last fifty. This is the industry that rewrites human reproduction and evolution.
Gameto, mi sexto unicornio, acaba de ser comprado por Ferring por 1.380 millones de dólares
En 2020 hice una donación a la Universidad de Harvard para crear una beca con el nombre de mi padre, Carlos M. Varsavsky, en el laboratorio de George Church, uno de los grandes genetistas del mundo. La beca tenía un solo objetivo: fabricar óvulos humanos en el laboratorio. De ahí salió Gameto.
Mi padre era astrofísico y creó el Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía. Era un gran profesor, en la universidad y en casa. En una época sin inteligencia artificial, él era la inteligencia artificial para mí: sabía de todo, era la enciclopedia de la familia. Murió joven. La beca lleva su nombre.
Ferring Pharmaceuticals, la farmacéutica suiza especializada en fertilidad, compra Gameto por hasta 1.382,5 millones de dólares. Soy cofundador de Gameto, y esta es la historia de una empresa que nació para hacer una cosa y fue comprada por otra.
Llegué a la fertilidad en 2016 con Prelude Fertility, una red de clínicas de fertilidad en Estados Unidos que monté y que después pasó a formar parte de Inception, hoy la mayor red de clínicas de fertilidad de Norteamérica.
Dentro de esas clínicas aprendí algo que las tasas de éxito no cuentan. La fecundación in vitro (FIV) funciona, pero es brutal. Durante unas dos semanas la mujer se inyecta hormonas para que sus ovarios liberen muchos óvulos a la vez. Eso son unos veintiocho pinchazos, varias ecografías, análisis de sangre, hinchazón y cambios de humor.
Muchas mujeres pasan por eso una vez y no quieren volver a pasar. Cada una que lo deja es un embarazo que nunca llega. Me obsesioné con una pregunta: ¿y si el tratamiento durara tres días en vez de dos semanas?
En 2020, el año de la beca, arrancamos Gameto con unos 3 millones de dólares de amigos y de otros emprendedores, entre ellos Brian Armstrong, el fundador de Coinbase; Jack Abraham, creador de Atomic, un estudio que monta empresas desde cero; y Shervin Pishevar, uno de los primeros inversores de Uber. Fabricar un óvulo resultó enormemente difícil. Nadie en el mundo lo ha conseguido todavía. Pero por el camino hacia el óvulo encontramos algo más útil para las mujeres que están hoy en tratamiento.
La beca pagó el doctorado de Christian Kramme, un genetista californiano que descubrió cómo fabricar en el laboratorio las células que rodean al óvulo dentro del ovario y lo ayudan a madurar. Hoy es el director científico de Gameto.
En 2021 incorporé a Dina Radenkovic Turner como cofundadora y consejera delegada. Tenía 26 años, era médica formada en el University College de Londres, había competido en olimpiadas de matemáticas en su Serbia natal, y es una de las personas más brillantes con las que he trabajado en mi vida. Mucha gente cuestionó que pusiera a alguien tan joven al frente de una empresa de biotecnología. El tiempo nos dio la razón. Lo que tenía era un objetivo casi imposible, fabricar un óvulo humano en el laboratorio, y una beca en Harvard. Dina convirtió eso en una empresa. Miró las células de Christian y vio un producto: si el óvulo todavía quedaba lejos, haríamos en el laboratorio el trabajo del ovario. Eso es Fertilo.
Con Fertilo, la mujer se pone hormonas solo dos o tres días, alrededor de un 80% menos de pinchazos. Sus óvulos se extraen todavía inmaduros y pasan un día en el laboratorio junto a esas células, que hacen el trabajo del ovario. Una vez maduros, se fecundan como en cualquier ciclo de FIV. Las células nunca entran en su cuerpo.
El 16 de diciembre de 2024 nació en Lima el primer bebé concebido así. En agosto de este año ya eran cinco bebés y más de veinte embarazos.
Una mujer que termina un tratamiento de tres días está mucho más dispuesta a volver a por un segundo ciclo, y a por un tercero. Tres ciclos suaves valen más que un ciclo brutal que nadie quiere repetir.
Con la compra de Ferring, Gameto es la sexta empresa que he construido que supera los mil millones de dólares, después de Viatel, Jazztel, Ya.com, Eolia Renovables, que vendimos en 2017, e Inception Fertility, que absorbió a Prelude. Telecomunicaciones, internet, energías limpias, clínicas de fertilidad y ahora biotecnología. Son sectores que no tienen nada en común, y en todos aprendí lo mismo: lo que más importa es el equipo.
Mi idea original, fabricar un óvulo humano en el laboratorio, todavía no ha funcionado. Lo que vale hasta 1.382,5 millones de dólares apareció por el camino, y lo vimos a tiempo.
Gracias a Dina, a Christian y a todo el equipo de Gameto.
14
11
67
7,024
Kristina Simmons retweeted
Go, Gameto, go, go, go! A new chapter in women's health.
Bloomberg: "The company has the potential to drive the biggest transformation in women’s health since the birth control pill."
"Gameto aims to improve the egg-freezing experience. The technique, which uses stem cells ed into ovarian support cells, is intended to free patients from the grueling two weeks of injections that prompt ovaries to make enough eggs during fertility treatment. In a Phase 3 trial, patients are only given one or two injections, after which their eggs are extracted and matured by the engineered cells."
"The treatment is already available to patients in Mexico, Peru and Australia, and has been cleared by regulators in nine more countries [and] may also be helpful in treating symptoms of menopause and maintaining ovarian health." — bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Today's news: "Ferring Pharmaceuticals has signed a $1.4 billion deal to buy Gameto Inc. Ferring is a Swiss maker of drugs used for in-vitro fertilization and reproductive medicine. It’s betting that with its global access to fertility clinics and pharmaceutical distribution, it will be able to popularize Gameto’s therapy"
"Interest in women’s health, historically under studied and underfunded, has heated up among pharmaceutical companies, driven in part by the commercial success of GLP-1 weight loss drugs among women." — bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Congratulations Dr. Dina Turner and the Gameto team!
Bloomberg: "The company has the potential to drive the biggest transformation in women’s health since the birth control pill."
"Gameto aims to improve the egg-freezing experience. The technique, which uses stem cells ed into ovarian support cells, is intended to free patients from the grueling two weeks of injections that prompt ovaries to make enough eggs during fertility treatment. In a Phase 3 trial, patients are only given one or two injections, after which their eggs are extracted and matured by the engineered cells."
"The treatment is already available to patients in Mexico, Peru and Australia, and has been cleared by regulators in nine more countries [and] may also be helpful in treating symptoms of menopause and maintaining ovarian health." — bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Today's news: "Ferring Pharmaceuticals has signed a $1.4 billion deal to buy Gameto Inc. Ferring is a Swiss maker of drugs used for in-vitro fertilization and reproductive medicine. It’s betting that with its global access to fertility clinics and pharmaceutical distribution, it will be able to popularize Gameto’s therapy"
"Interest in women’s health, historically under studied and underfunded, has heated up among pharmaceutical companies, driven in part by the commercial success of GLP-1 weight loss drugs among women." — bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Congratulations Dr. Dina Turner and the Gameto team!
Future Ventures is proud to kick off the new year by leading the Series A for Gameto — to support their vision to improve assisted fertility and prolong reproductive longevity by forestalling ovarian aging and menopause.
• prnewswire.com/news-releases/…
• techcrunch.com/2022/01/10/wit…
8
16
137
17,138
Kristina Simmons retweeted
Big news in the fertility world this morning. Gameto, the pluripotent stem cell startup I wrote about in my future of fertility series last year, was acquired by Ferring (pharma co) for $1.4b! It uses stem cells to essentially regenerate dysfunctional or aging eggs in women’s ovaries. I imagine this biotech will now became a standard part of IVF care, and as I wrote last year, it also has promising implications for aging-related symptoms of menopause too.
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
1
6
21
2,269
Kristina Simmons retweeted
ADMIRABLE.
Gameto, mi sexto unicornio, acaba de ser comprado por Ferring por 1.380 millones de dólares
En 2020 hice una donación a la Universidad de Harvard para crear una beca con el nombre de mi padre, Carlos M. Varsavsky, en el laboratorio de George Church, uno de los grandes genetistas del mundo. La beca tenía un solo objetivo: fabricar óvulos humanos en el laboratorio. De ahí salió Gameto.
Mi padre era astrofísico y creó el Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía. Era un gran profesor, en la universidad y en casa. En una época sin inteligencia artificial, él era la inteligencia artificial para mí: sabía de todo, era la enciclopedia de la familia. Murió joven. La beca lleva su nombre.
Ferring Pharmaceuticals, la farmacéutica suiza especializada en fertilidad, compra Gameto por hasta 1.382,5 millones de dólares. Soy cofundador de Gameto, y esta es la historia de una empresa que nació para hacer una cosa y fue comprada por otra.
Llegué a la fertilidad en 2016 con Prelude Fertility, una red de clínicas de fertilidad en Estados Unidos que monté y que después pasó a formar parte de Inception, hoy la mayor red de clínicas de fertilidad de Norteamérica.
Dentro de esas clínicas aprendí algo que las tasas de éxito no cuentan. La fecundación in vitro (FIV) funciona, pero es brutal. Durante unas dos semanas la mujer se inyecta hormonas para que sus ovarios liberen muchos óvulos a la vez. Eso son unos veintiocho pinchazos, varias ecografías, análisis de sangre, hinchazón y cambios de humor.
Muchas mujeres pasan por eso una vez y no quieren volver a pasar. Cada una que lo deja es un embarazo que nunca llega. Me obsesioné con una pregunta: ¿y si el tratamiento durara tres días en vez de dos semanas?
En 2020, el año de la beca, arrancamos Gameto con unos 3 millones de dólares de amigos y de otros emprendedores, entre ellos Brian Armstrong, el fundador de Coinbase; Jack Abraham, creador de Atomic, un estudio que monta empresas desde cero; y Shervin Pishevar, uno de los primeros inversores de Uber. Fabricar un óvulo resultó enormemente difícil. Nadie en el mundo lo ha conseguido todavía. Pero por el camino hacia el óvulo encontramos algo más útil para las mujeres que están hoy en tratamiento.
La beca pagó el doctorado de Christian Kramme, un genetista californiano que descubrió cómo fabricar en el laboratorio las células que rodean al óvulo dentro del ovario y lo ayudan a madurar. Hoy es el director científico de Gameto.
En 2021 incorporé a Dina Radenkovic Turner como cofundadora y consejera delegada. Tenía 26 años, era médica formada en el University College de Londres, había competido en olimpiadas de matemáticas en su Serbia natal, y es una de las personas más brillantes con las que he trabajado en mi vida. Mucha gente cuestionó que pusiera a alguien tan joven al frente de una empresa de biotecnología. El tiempo nos dio la razón. Lo que tenía era un objetivo casi imposible, fabricar un óvulo humano en el laboratorio, y una beca en Harvard. Dina convirtió eso en una empresa. Miró las células de Christian y vio un producto: si el óvulo todavía quedaba lejos, haríamos en el laboratorio el trabajo del ovario. Eso es Fertilo.
Con Fertilo, la mujer se pone hormonas solo dos o tres días, alrededor de un 80% menos de pinchazos. Sus óvulos se extraen todavía inmaduros y pasan un día en el laboratorio junto a esas células, que hacen el trabajo del ovario. Una vez maduros, se fecundan como en cualquier ciclo de FIV. Las células nunca entran en su cuerpo.
El 16 de diciembre de 2024 nació en Lima el primer bebé concebido así. En agosto de este año ya eran cinco bebés y más de veinte embarazos.
Una mujer que termina un tratamiento de tres días está mucho más dispuesta a volver a por un segundo ciclo, y a por un tercero. Tres ciclos suaves valen más que un ciclo brutal que nadie quiere repetir.
Con la compra de Ferring, Gameto es la sexta empresa que he construido que supera los mil millones de dólares, después de Viatel, Jazztel, Ya.com, Eolia Renovables, que vendimos en 2017, e Inception Fertility, que absorbió a Prelude. Telecomunicaciones, internet, energías limpias, clínicas de fertilidad y ahora biotecnología. Son sectores que no tienen nada en común, y en todos aprendí lo mismo: lo que más importa es el equipo.
Mi idea original, fabricar un óvulo humano en el laboratorio, todavía no ha funcionado. Lo que vale hasta 1.382,5 millones de dólares apareció por el camino, y lo vimos a tiempo.
Gracias a Dina, a Christian y a todo el equipo de Gameto.
560
672
7,956
380,249
Kristina Simmons retweeted
This is a defining moment for Gameto. Together, our cell-engineering platform and Ferring’s expertise and global reach create an opportunity to advance innovation, expand access and bring more modern fertility treatment options to women and families.
16
6
107
6,692
Kristina Simmons retweeted
Love to see this. Congrats @drdinaturner for this well deserved outcome & win for patients. And to investors including @ksimm and @deenashakir.
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Scoop via @sarahfrier
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Scoop via @sarahfrier
3
2
19
2,864
@OverwaterVCs@GametoGeni@drdinaturnerr@martinvarse that has the potential to fundamentally change women’s health and expand reproductive choice for generations to come. With decades of experience helping people build families, Ferring is well positioned to bring this innovation to more women and families around the world.
0
1
3
152
Kristina Simmons retweeted
Thanks to Jim Messina and Lindsey Kerr for joining today to talk about The Political Landscape: What It Means for Capital, Innovation, & Regulation with our @OverwaterVC founders for our latest On the Dock session!
0
1
2
146
Big news: @ErewhonMarket is now using Organic Fera fruit oil for frying across all 15 locations.
If you're a customer, you can scan a code at the cafe counter and see the Regenerative Organic Certified® farms where the fruit is grown. Or watch the video here:
erewhon.zeroacre.com
It's a new level of transparency for frying oil that's Seed Oil Free Certified® and tested for purity.
fastcompany.com/91623743/erewh…
1
1
6
22,828
Kristina Simmons retweeted
A month ago, I shared how @GetTinyHealth started in my garage, with my mom hand-packing every kit.
Today, the next chapter: we’ve raised a $33M Series B led by @BCapitalGroup, bringing our total funding to $46M.
From newborns to centenarians, we’re building Tiny Health for you. ❤️
Today, the next chapter: we’ve raised a $33M Series B led by @BCapitalGroup, bringing our total funding to $46M.
From newborns to centenarians, we’re building Tiny Health for you. ❤️
8
6
47
3,671
Congratulations @GetTinyHealth for closing a $33M Series B. We backed the team early @OverwaterVC and are excited to see them ride even bigger wave
Austin-based Tiny Health has raised $33 million in a Series B funding round led by B Capital to help it meet growing demand for its at-home microbiome tests.
news.crunchbase.com/venture/tiny-h…
1
0
9
5,008
We have a company in our portfolio that can continuously monitor cortisol which will be game-changing to understanding our health.
No sex drive = cortisol.
Facial puffiness = cortisol.
Waking up at 3 a.m. to pee = cortisol.
Stubborn belly fat = cortisol.
The following 8 scientifically backed methods will help you rebalance cortisol:
1. Stop exercising after 7 p.m.
1
0
7
2,417
Kristina Simmons retweeted
Rocket Lab is hiring a dedicated social media role for the first time.
I promise to never ask you to “just make it go viral.”
If you’ve got a good few years of experience under your belt running social and creating compelling content for established brands with big audiences, n be US or NZ based.
lnkd.in/eMfpAQ4i
I promise to never ask you to “just make it go viral.”
If you’ve got a good few years of experience under your belt running social and creating compelling content for established brands with big audiences, n be US or NZ based.
lnkd.in/eMfpAQ4i
45
55
717
109,536
Kristina Simmons retweeted
I spent the weekend using AI to explore renovation ideas for a property. Each concept generated was basically construction-ready, since I fed it land & soil surveys (and generated everything else off Zillow and satellite photos).
The future is going to have very few intemers and the last mile of labor.
And more broadly: consumers will be spending a lot more on custom projects to get precisely what they want, since the reasons they've been cost prohibitive (design and engineering) will no longer matter.
Essentially, a lot more things are going to be custom-fabricated—electronics, clothing, home fixtures. The next era of consumer tech is going to make everyone a hobbyist and builder.
The future is going to have very few intemers and the last mile of labor.
And more broadly: consumers will be spending a lot more on custom projects to get precisely what they want, since the reasons they've been cost prohibitive (design and engineering) will no longer matter.
Essentially, a lot more things are going to be custom-fabricated—electronics, clothing, home fixtures. The next era of consumer tech is going to make everyone a hobbyist and builder.
685
329
6,712
1,989,956