A startup which plans to produce at-home male fertility tests first developed at the University of Virginia has announced a $1.4 million investment in a new Albemarle County facility that will bring 31 jobs to the area.
PS-Fertility is preparing to market a technology developed at UVa that tests for the presence of biomarkers on sperm cells necessary for fertilization. This makes it possible to get a fuller picture of a man’s fertility, according to the firm.
“We anticipate launching our company’s advanced testing platform to measure and analyze male fertility levels in the very near future,” CEO Kevin Combs said in a statement announcing the news Wednesday.
The company plans to rent out a space at 3030 Vision Lane in Albemarle County, where a self-storage facility is now located. The site will serve as PS-Fertility’s headquarters, where workers will put together test kits, PS-Fertility said. It will also house a test kit assembly operation and a diagnostic laboratory, according to the company.
“PS-Fertility is a homegrown success story,” said Gov. Glenn Youngkin in Wednesday’s statement. “We look forward to supporting the company’s next chapter of growth in Albemarle County.”
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Albemarle County to secure the project for Virginia and will support PS-Fertility’s job creation through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program, according to the statement. The program should help the company recruit and train workers, the statement said.
“Our community is a hub for biotech innovation, incubating insights born at UVa into industries serving patients across the country and around the world,” Democratic Del. Sally Hudson, who represents in the county in the General Assembly, said in the statement. “Our public partners should continue doing all we can to support local innovators like PS-Fertility as they grow their work where it all began.”
PS-Fertility did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Progress.
Source: www.dailyprogress.com
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