The Life Sciences Revolution
Take a deep dive to the forefront of scientific breakthroughs, entrepreneurial happenings, and disruptive medical technologies with Dr. Armando Cuesta and Alex Wise. The LSR podcast brings you experts in biotechnology, company management, and venture capital to shed light on the medical revolutions shaping our lives. Special thanks to Jank Setup for providing their song, "In Motion," for the intro and outro to the podcast!The Life Sciences Revolution Podcast is sponsored by Korion Life Sciences
The Life Sciences Revolution
Martin Varsavsky: Infertility & the Ethics of Working in the Fertility Space
In this episode, Alex chats with Martin Varsavsky, a serial entrepreneur in the realm of fertility and the founder of Prelude Fertility, the largest fertility clinic network in North America. Before working in the fertility space, Martin was the founder of various companies in the renewables and telecommunications space, many of which have reached unicorn valuations well past the billion-dollar mark.
We discuss:
- What does it mean to be infertile and what is IVF (in vitro fertilization)? Why is infertility on the rise and what are the options to work around it?
- What is Prelude Fertility, what services are provided, and who are the typical patients who come to Prelude?
- Is it advisable for all young people prophylactically freeze gametes?
- What made you switch to working in the fertility space from your other ventures? What is it like being on the patient side of your own venture?
- Martin's other fertility ventures: Overture Life/overhauling the fertility clinic benchtop and Gameto
- Different types of fertilization: natural vs ICSI
- The ethics of working in the fertility realm: CRISPR babies, discarding embryos, genetic testing embryos, abortions, and access to fertility services
- Advice for entrepreneurs and blazing your own path