LAVIMA Fertility

A revolutionary next step in in vitro maturation of oocytes 

LAVIMA Fertlity, Inc. was founded by Prof. Dr. Johan Smitz (VUB), Prof. Dr. Andre Rosenthal and Ir. Elien van Hecke. Their aim is to give women more control about how IVF is performed. As an alternative to conventional IVF, they offer a more natural way of obtaining oocytes for IVF, without the burden and risks of systemic ovarian stimulation with gonadotropins. Their new disruptive technology CAPA-IVM requires no hormone stimulation and no trigger, thus avoiding risks and side reactions for the patients.

CAPA-IVM is a biphasic in vitro maturation (IVM) culture system which has been developed at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) in a collaboration between the Follicle Biology research group (FOBI-VUB) and Centrum voor Reproductieve Geneeskunde, the fertility clinic of UZ Brussel. 

The CAPA-IVM technology has the potential to improve the efficiency of the currently available IVM systems for clinical use. “CAPA” stands for capacitation, i.e. the in vitro culture of the oocytes is extended in order to enhance the developmental potential of the matured oocytes. The technology of IVM of oocytes is a more patient-friendly alternative for standard hormonal stimulation of the ovaries, because of the lower hormonal burden and reduced risks of adverse events. Moreover, the technology has an emerging role in onco-fertility preservation and may increase access of women to fertility treatment in countries with limited resources.