Spermageddon: The Global Male Fertility Crisis
Glenn Barden, a 48-year-old TV director from London, spent most of his 30s attempting to have a child. Despite his sperm count not being considered problematic, the failure to conceive left him depressed. He diligently followed advice to maximize sperm production, including avoiding alcohol and tobacco, wearing loose underwear, and adhering to other recommended measures. However, these efforts were unsuccessful, and no specific underlying issue was diagnosed. The inability to father a child made him feel inadequate as a man, leading to feelings of paranoia, frustration, envy, and anger. His story was reported by The Guardian as part of a growing number of men facing what some have termed "Spermaggadon."
There is a growing crisis in male fertility, with experts sounding the alarm. Over the past 50 years, average sperm counts globally have dropped by 50%, and the decline has been even more pronounced in the last two decades.
The report on global trends in sperm count revealed an average decline of 1.2% per year between 1973 and 2018, decreasing from 104 million/ml to 49 million/ml. This rate of decline accelerated to more than 2.6% per year after 2000.
A study published in the journal Human Reproduction Update, based on 153 estimates from men likely unaware of their fertility, suggests that the average sperm concentration decreased from an estimated 101.2 million/ml to 49.0 million/ml between 1973 and 2018, representing a drop of 51.6%. Total sperm counts declined by 62.3% during the same period. Decreases in sperm concentration were observed not only in the previously studied region but also in Central and South America, Africa, and Asia.
According to some experts, the male partner is solely responsible for infertility in approximately 20% of cases and is a contributing factor in an additional 30% to 40%. In many instances, male and female infertility can coexist. However, it is predominantly women who bear the burden of family planning, face social stigma related to acting with urgency, and experience the stress and potential trauma associated with infertility treatment.
The most remarkable aspect is that nearly all investment in addressing the fertility crisis is directed toward women, despite men's significant contribution to the issue. Even in cases where male infertility is the primary problem, women are often the ones who undergo assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment.
There is limited support and funding for male fertility, but some companies are striving to change that. Fecundis, a fertility medtech startup focused on male sperm, is one such company. Fecundis is an innovative startup with a mission to eradicate infertility, a global disease that affects approximately 200 million people and causes significant financial, psychological, and physical burdens on patients.
Fecundis has developed a technology that optimizes semen samples for in vitro fertilization. This technology involves a series of biochemical enhancers that mimic the molecular events occurring within the female reproductive tract during natural fertilization. By specifically activating these molecular pathways, the technology enhances sperm functionality and performance.
This technology, patented and exclusively licensed worldwide, is deployed in the company’s first product, HyperSperm, a semen processing kit for assisted reproduction clinics. HyperSperm is used during in vitro fertilization (IVF) and increases the number and quality of embryos that develop in the treatment, resulting in an increase in pregnancy rates and a reduction in both cost and treatment time.
After successful preclinical studies in both mice and cattle—a parallel market with significant potential—Fecundis has confirmed the effectiveness of HyperSperm in a pilot clinical trial involving assisted reproduction patients. The treatment group using HyperSperm produced 63% more embryos compared to the control group. Furthermore, three children have already been born from these treatments, all full-term and healthy. A second clinical trial involving 40 patients treated with HyperSperm is currently underway and is expected to be completed within a few months.
Fecundis continues to develop its pipeline beyond HyperSperm, maintaining its focus on the male gamete, to capture more portions of the value chain of assisted reproduction treatments, with the aim of expanding its portfolio to the preparation, selection, analysis and diagnosis of infertility.
Fecundis claims that HyperSperm enhances sperm hyperactivated motility, a hallmark of capacitation, without compromising sperm viability, acrosome integrity, or DNA fragmentation. It consists of 3 media used sequentially to treat sperm before insemination, gave rise to more high-quality blastocysts compared to current standard of care in a pilot split oocyte study in 10 couples.
Some of the companies operating in the male infertility treatment space include:
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