Soon, all it will take is a simple trip to a convenience store for men to purchase a device that will allow them to test their fertility at home.
ContraVac, a Charlottesville-based company, expects to start selling SpermCheck Fertility by April 15, said CEO Ray Lopez. The device aims to let men avoid the doctor's office without sacrificing accuracy.
"The general notion is to identify male factor infertility early in the process and have it done in the privacy of the home," said John Herr, the founder, chairman and chief scientific officer of ContraVac.
Herr said the product was created to meet the needs of couples who are considering starting a family, couples who are having trouble conceiving and want to determine if the male has fertility problems, men with varicoceles, men who are reluctant to have their semen analyzed by a doctor and for those who are just curious.
Additionally, Herr hopes the test will raise awareness of male infertility and decrease unnecessary testing of women.
About 40 percent to 50 percent of the time infertility is a male issue, but that 80 percent of men in infertile couples do not receive a fertility evaluation, he said.
The test uses colored lines to let the person know if the product worked and if he is fertile.
A semen sample is placed in a bottle with a solution and the two are mixed. Four drops of the mixture is then placed in a lateral flow device, similar to a pregnancy test, which will measure the sperm.
The process was made possible by a protein that was discovered 21 years ago. The protein is found exclusively in the head of mature sperm, which allows sperm to be measured by using monoclonal antibodies that will detect and bind to that protein, Herr said.
Herr, also a professor at the University of Virginia, said that the university owns the patents on the research behind the product and will receive 3 percent of the royalties.
Ed Leary, president of ContraVac, said there is only one word to describe how it feels to get to the point where the product will be sold in stores: "Finally."
"It takes a lot to get it to this point," Leary said.
Selling SpermCheck Fertility in stores is a big step for ContraVac, and it required a change in management.
The company needed someone with sales and marketing experience to get the product into stores. So Herr stepped down as CEO and Ray Lopez was hired to fill the position in mid-June.
Leary said Lopez was the logical choice because he had been a member of the company's board since 2004 and knew everything about the product, in addition to having a sales and marketing background.
The Daily Progress
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