Major Key Takeaways

• Couple-First Diagnostic Model: Avenues Clinic and Sapyen have introduced a structural change to UK fertility care by requiring both partners to complete clinical screenings at home before their first consultation.
• Integrated Testing: The "Reproductive Intelligence Review" embeds at-home semen analysis and Anti-Müllerian Hormone (AMH) testing directly into the standard patient pathway.
• Advanced Technology: The model utilises Sapyen’s patent-pending SPX72 technology, which extends semen viability from one hour to 72 hours, enabling lab-grade analysis from home-collected samples.
• Efficiency in Care: By completing baseline diagnostics early, the model reduces the number of clinic visits and shifts the initial consultation from fact-finding to clinical decision-making.
• Addressing Gender Imbalance: The partnership ensures male fertility is investigated from day one, addressing the historical trend where male testing was often delayed or fragmented.

A significant structural shift is occurring at the entry point of fertility care in the United Kingdom. In a move to modernize and streamline the patient journey, Sapyen and Avenues Launch at-home fertility diagnostics, marking the first time a leading fertility clinic has redesigned its treatment protocol to prioritise a "couple-first" testing model. Under this new approach, both partners in a couple are now able to complete essential clinical fertility screenings from the comfort of their own homes before ever attending a first consultation.

Avenues Clinic has entered into an exclusive partnership with Sapyen to integrate at-home semen analysis for men and at-home Anti-Müllerian Hormone (AMH) testing for women into its standard care pathway. This initiative, known as the Reproductive Intelligence Review, ensures that couples arrive at their first clinical appointment with critical baseline diagnostics already established. This is particularly beneficial for patients travelling from across the UK to access Avenues' specialised care, such as Fair IVF or treatments for those in clinics with strict BMI thresholds, as it significantly reduces the number of required in-person visits.

The traditional model of fertility medicine has often been criticised for a persistent failure: although male factor infertility contributes to approximately half of all cases, testing has historically been fragmented and focused disproportionately on women. Men are frequently tested much later in the process, often under narrow time constraints that require rapid sample delivery to a clinic. As Sapyen and Avenues Launch at-home fertility diagnostics, this logistical friction is removed, compressing the time to clinical insight and ensuring that decision-making is based on full information from the start.

Dr. Cristina Hickman, CEO of Avenues Clinic, highlighted the philosophy behind the change: "The fertility journey shouldn't start with waiting rooms and logistics. It should start with understanding. Our Reproductive Intelligence Review allows couples to complete essential diagnostics from home so that when they arrive, the conversation focuses on decisions rather than discovery."

This innovation is made possible by Sapyen’s patent-pending sperm stabilisation technology, SPX72. This medium extends the viability of semen samples from just one hour to up to 72 hours after collection. This advancement allows for accurate laboratory analysis without the need for immediate clinic delivery, removing one of the most entrenched barriers to routine male fertility testing. Sapyen’s test kits, which start at £149, provide comprehensive insights ranging from standard semen analysis to advanced assays like DNA fragmentation.

Ash Ramachandran, CEO of Sapyen, noted the systemic benefits of early data collection: "Fertility outcomes suffer when the system delays information. The question should never be why couples waited months to understand half the equation. Start with data. Reduce uncertainty early. Everything downstream improves."

Clinicians at Avenues anticipate that this shift will fundamentally change the nature of patient consultations. By arriving earlier in the pathway with baseline results already in hand, patients can engage in clearer planning and fewer exploratory appointments. Ultimately, this model reframes fertility as a shared clinical problem from day one, ensuring male fertility is no longer treated as a secondary investigation. For the healthcare system, this transition represents a vital reallocation of clinical time away from logistics and toward direct patient care. Through this partnership, Sapyen and Avenues Launch at-home fertility diagnostics to ensure the fertility journey begins with evidence rather than iteration.