Ovo Labs has released the first efficacy data pointing to a potential human egg rejuvenation breakthrough, after pre-clinical results showed improved egg quality during standard IVF procedures. The findings were presented at Fertility 2026, the UK’s largest fertility conference.

The data relates to EmbryoProtect 1 (EP1), Ovo Labs’ lead therapeutic candidate. In a pre-clinical study involving more than 100 eggs from patients aged 22 to 43, treatment with EP1 increased the share of viable eggs from around 47% to approximately 71%. If replicated in clinical trials, the company estimates the improvement could significantly increase global IVF birth rates.

Egg quality decline remains a central limitation in IVF, particularly as maternal age increases. By the age of 40, more than 70% of eggs are estimated to be chromosomally abnormal, contributing to infertility, miscarriage and genetic conditions.

Prof. Melina Schuh, Director at the Max Planck Institute and Co-Founder of Ovo Labs, said: “Women do not produce new eggs in adulthood and must instead rely on the limited reserve established before birth. Because eggs are some of the fastest-ageing cells in the human body, signs of egg ageing can already be detected in women in their early 30s. This accelerates even further by the time a woman reaches her 40s. With the age of aspiring parents continuing to increase worldwide and more people needing the help of IVF to conceive, this is already a worrying and stressful process. Couples often undergo several rounds of gruelling and invasive IVF without the odds of success improving.

“The initial results of our pre-clinical study, led by a Postdoctoral Scientist Dr Debojit Saha with support of Dr Saba Manshaei (now Head of Development at Ovo Labs), show that EmbryoProtect can intervene to successfully reverse damage caused by ageing which would make IVF more effective for all couples, but particularly in women of advanced reproductive age. While egg rejuvenation has been successfully carried out in model organisms before, this is the first time it’s been undertaken using human eggs in vitro.”

The study showed that EP1 can reverse aging-related cellular damage. While similar effects have been observed in animal models, Ovo Labs is the first to demonstrate this outcome using human eggs in vitro, reinforcing the significance of the human egg rejuvenation breakthrough.

Dr. Agata Zielinska, co-CEO of Ovo Labs, said: “We’ve been hugely encouraged by the results from this study and the next step would be to complete the required safety and toxicity studies in-house at our fully-established research facility to enable the first clinical trials. We would then be able to bring EmbryoProtect to patients, effectively extending the female reproductive age span.”

Prof. Antonio Pellicer, founder of IVIRMA, added: “For decades, we have understood that poor egg quality is the main reason IVF often fails – especially in women over 35 – but we have had no way to address this. What Ovo Labs is doing with EmbryoProtect is scientifically grounded and could not be more clinically relevant. If validated in clinical trials, it has the potential to deliver the biggest improvement in IVF success rates we have seen in decades”.

Founded in 2025, Ovo Labs builds on more than 20 years of academic research into egg ageing. Its EmbryoProtect pipeline is now progressing toward clinical evaluation, positioning the company at the forefront of fertility therapeutics development.