A pill for couples struggling to conceive with IVF has been found to increase the chances of pregnancy. In clinical trials, it was found to raise the likelihood of the fertilised egg implanting in the womb. While the pill requires further trials and regulatory approval before it could become available, scientists said the results were “very good news’ for childless couples.
With a cycle of IVF costing from AUD$10,000-$20,000 privately, reducing the number of cycles could mean more couples achieving their dream of parenthood. Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion. The study looked at women under 40 using IVF or ICSI – intracytoplasmic sperm injection, a similar technique to IVF where a single sperm is injected into an egg before it is implanted.
The new pill increased the chance of a live birth by 6.9 per cent – 42.6 per cent of the women in the trial gave birth, compared with 35.
7 per cent who took a placebo. The pill was unveiled at the annual conference of the European Society for Human Reproduction (ESHRE) in Amsterdam. Donor eggs were used to test the pill – called OXO-001 – as there is thought to be less variation in the quality of donor eggs compared with women’s own eggs.
Spanish biotech company Oxolife is now planning a larger study in women using their own eggs. Most fertility treatment uses a woman’s own eggs. In 2019, 86 per cent of IVF cycles used a woman’s own eggs and her partner’s sperm, accordi.