A new £300 intracervical insemination kit based on a 1910s design is promising to transform modern fertility treatments for women.
Founded by embryologist David O’Rourke, femtech specialist Tess Cosad and product developer George Thomas, Béa Fertility is designed to bring a new clinical-standard, at-home fertility treatment to people who are struggling to conceive naturally.
Intracervical fertilization is a type of artificial insemination. It involves placing semen near the cervix for a prolonged period of time, usually between 4-12 hours.
For between £250-£300 per month, customers will receive two insemination devices as well as 20 ovulation tests, several pregnancy tests and two semen containers.
The goal is to make fertility treatment affordable to all and to counteract the unfair IVF “postcode lottery” women and couples experience on NHS by not limiting the age of the mother, financial situation, or relationship status.
Tess told FEMAIL: ‘Our mission at Béa is to democratise access to effective fertility treatments; providing people with more options.’
Founded by embryologist David O’Rourke and femtech specialist Tess Cosad, Béa Fertility is designed to bring a new clinical-standard, at-home fertility treatment to people who are struggling to conceive naturally
David, a clinical egglogist, said that he was inspired to launch this product by his own experience as a doctor.
He said, “I have spent many years in fertility and am passionate about expanding access to a wider range of treatments.”
“I knew that ICI interventions had high success rates, but that they’d been overlooked as fertility clinics shifted to the more expensive IUI/IVF market.
“That inspired the idea of an ICI treatment that could easily be handled at home by the couple to help them take control of the next step in their journey to conceive.
For between £250-£300 per month, customers will receive two insemination devices as well as 20 ovulation tests, several pregnancy tests and two semen containers (pictured)
And Tess said ICI was the go-to clinical fertility treatment on offer in the UK. up to the 1970s.
Refinery29 spoke to her, saying that artificial insemination was the first form of artificial reproduction. You would find clinics offering it in different forms or shapes as early as 1910 and 1920.
After three years and over 90 prototypes, he met with Tess in late 2019, a marketing specialist with experience working with several technology companies.
The British start-up was co-founded by David and Tess after netting a $1m (£700,000) in pre-seed funding in April.
It operates on a monthly subscription basis, providing users with: two ICI devices, ovulation tests, pregnancy tests, and access to an app to help track ovulation dates and the progress of their fertility journey.
The iThe ntracervical injection (ICI) device consists of an insertion apparatus that is used to place a silicone sperm cup onto the cervix. It stays there for between four and 12 hours.
The subscription will cost around £300 per month.
The method involves using a device to place a small cup of semen close to the cervix, where it’s left in-situ for 4-12 hours.
In the meantime, women can go about their days as normal and there are no invasive hormone treatments or injectables involved.
Two weeks after the treatment, women can test for pregnancy, and will also receive ovulation tests each month, to help keep track of ovulation patterns and treatment plan.
David stated, “We’ve been through over 90 iterations to get the right balance between effectiveness and user-friendliness. We can’t wait for couples to improve their chances of having children.”
The product’s co-founder suggested that its appeal was because it works at home and is natural, meaning that there are no drugs involved in stimulating a cycle.
Tess explained, ‘ICI has been clinically shown to be highly effective when increasing the chance of conception. However it’s not made readily available to people at the start of their fertility journey.
They will have to make a huge leap into the costly world of invasive treatment.
ICI can be a great way to increase your chances of getting pregnant for those who are not suffering from a medically diagnosed condition.
Tess, the co-founder of ICI, stated that ICI could be an ‘ideal method’ to increase a person’s chances of becoming pregnant.
“We are designing a product that makes it easy and affordable for people to do all of this from their home.
She said, “Infertility is still taboo and something that we don’t talk about enough. This means that many people struggle to get pregnant alone.”
‘There’s something so empowering about taking your fertility journey into your own hands, and this is why I’m so passionate about launching Béa Fertility.
‘Through Béa, we’re breaking down barriers, driving inclusion, improving access, and fundamentally cracking open the fertility market.’
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, NICE, recommends that women aged less than 40 in England and Wales be offered three cycles IVF treatment on NHS if they are within their guidelines.
Women must have tried to get pregnant for at least two years through regular unprotected sexual activity or after 12 cycles of artificial fertilization.
Individual NHS clinical commissioning groups, or CCGs, make the final decision on who can receive NHS-funded IVF in their own area. This means that many women are falling prey to the “postcode lottery” of IVF.
In August, it was revealed IVF treatment in some areas of England will require women who are seeking IVF treatment must prove that they are in a stable relationship for at least three years to be eligible for funding.
According to the policy of Kernow CCG, Cornwall requires that a patient have a partner for at least two years and be financially independent to be eligible for treatment. However, IVF is allowed on the NHS in Devon for single women.
Revealed: How IVF success rates are 3.6 TIMES lower in some parts of the UK than others – with one clinic giving women just a 12% chance of getting pregnant
Experts last year warned that IVF success rates are three and a half times lower in certain parts of the UK due to a cruel postcode lottery’.
Only 12 percent of women who have the procedure at St Jude’s Fertility Clinic Wolverhampton have a chance to have a baby.
By contrast, the success rate of an IVF cycle at University Hospital Coventry – just a 50-minute drive away – is 43 per cent.
Charities described the disparity as ‘cruel, unjust’ and said that couples shouldn’t be denied the opportunity to have children based on their postcode or income.
Experts have warned that IVF success rates are nearly four times lower in certain parts of the UK due to a cruel postcode lottery’. These are the top five most reputable and worst clinics (source: University Hospital Coventry).
A normal IVF cycle costs between £3,000 and £5,000. Couples may need to pay more than ten times for IVF at some clinics before they can have a baby.
Only 15% of cycles led to a birth at New Life fertility center in Epsom, Surrey. This clinic is the second-worst performing in Britain.
Glasgow Royal Infirmary has the second highest success rate (43 per cent), according to 2017 data published by UK’s fertility watchdog in December.
Gwenda Burns (chief executive of charity Fertility Network UK) responded to the data by telling MailOnline that the postcode lottery was cruel and unjust.
Access to quality fertility treatments should be determined by your medical need and not your postcode.
“IVF was pioneered in the UK over 40 years ago, but this achievement is meaningless if only those who have the financial means to pay for private fertility treatment are able to benefit from it.
“Faceing fertility problems can be distressing enough without having to turn down medical help due to where you live.”