Why We Invested: Posterity Health

Shawn Ellis and Carolina Rojas

Earlier this year, our team was introduced to co-founders Pam Pure, Dr. Barrett Cowen, and the team at Posterity Health, the first and only male fertility digital center of excellence. Posterity Health’s mission is to address and provide solutions for the component of the fertility journey that is often under-addressed — male infertility. Infertility affects one in every six couples, and while the female element of the fertility process is typically the focal point, the male aspect is a major contributing factor in at least half of all cases of infertility, according to research from the Cleveland Clinic. Posterity Health is focused on optimizing sperm quality, which opens up new treatment options for couples struggling to conceive.

As Pam and Barrett note, it takes two to tango, and today’s healthcare market would greatly benefit from a more balanced, equitable approach involving both partners in the fertility journey. Posterity Health’s team of male fertility specialists, which is made up of best-in-class reproductive urologists, work directly with OBGYNs, fertility centers and fertility benefit managers/administrators to bring a holistic, integrated, at-home care solution focused solely on male fertility testing and treatment. The company’s Male Factor Management Platform offers a combination of virtual visits, at-home diagnostics and in-person consults to help assess and improve patients’ fertility status. Services include baseline assessments, sperm preservation, semen analysis, pregnancy loss consults, diagnostic workups, vasectomy reversals and gender affirming care. With many states lacking local reproductive urologists, Posterity Health’s virtual center of excellence makes care accessible regardless of location. Proactive male evaluation and treatment will allow couples to find a faster path to pregnancy.

Consider this:

· While a male infertility test has long been the best practice when couples seek fertility treatment, a diagnostic test was rarely followed with a workup and suggested therapies, which can span from non-invasive lifestyle changes to non-acute surgical interventions.

· Of those men who were tested for infertility, even when a diagnostic exam returns an abnormal result, studies have shown that roughly only 20% of men were subsequently evaluated by a male specialist.

· There are approximately 200 male fertility specialists practicing in the U.S. today and about ten new specialists trained each year; in contrast, there are nearly 100x more female infertility specialists in the country.

· As couples are choosing to start families later, 1 in 3 couples in the U.S. over the age of 35 struggle with infertility.

· This is a global challenge. The WHO estimates there are 186M individuals facing infertility worldwide.

With an understanding of these high-level statistics, it’s easy to recognize why employers now prioritize fertility offerings as a sponsored benefit for their employees. A recent Axios report on fertility services notes that the number of employers offering fertility benefits has more than doubled in the last five years. In 2023 the major Fertility Benefit Managers will begin to cover male infertility treatments, to date mail treatment has remained largely ignored. Reimbursement for these essential services will help couples determine their best path to pregnancy.

When one considers the Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade, the implications for the infertility process are unclear and will vary on a state-by-state basis. What is known is that the recent decision will affect not just abortions, but other forms of reproductive care, which may include IVF treatment. The potential implications on the cost, access, and care for couples struggling to conceive is daunting. As numerous articles in Politico, The New York Times, CNN, and others have explained, a state law could curtail access to fertility treatments, and in some cases, make illegal the practice of freezing or discarding unused embryos in an IVF process. Now more than ever, it’s important that couples and individuals who are trying to conceive have a full understanding of all their options to determine the best path forward for achieving their desired pregnancy goals, whether it be conceiving naturally or through IVF. Proactive male treatment may dramatically improve sperm quality opening up new treatment options.

At Distributed Ventures, our investment team remains committed to backing innovative health and employer benefits trailblazers that yield improved experiences and outcomes, while broadly eliminating cost and inefficiencies that health consumers face when navigating their needs. That’s what has driven our past investments in leading companies like Kindbody, Vivante Health, and Hound Labs. Fertility has long been an area of interest given the market size and impact.

Regardless of one’s position on Roe v. Wade, it’s easy to advocate for Posterity Health as a powerful solution that provides more equal fertility benefits to today’s health consumers at a currently challenging moment in time. We’re thrilled to announce our investment in the company, and excited to support the team’s journey as the company scales to address the needs of the modern health care consumer navigating the family-building process.