Scullion Strategy signs an exclusive option agreement for smartphone technology for animal breeding
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Option agreement allows the Scullion Strategy Group to negotiate a license in the animal health industry to commercially develop and use the technology in the field of semen analysis for veterinary use.
Smartphone-based device analyzes human sperm with approximately 98 percent accuracy using a cost effective, convenient, and easy-to-use test.
Technology can offer the animal health industry a mobile fertility device that is portable, provides objective results, and can be replicated with accuracy.
Boston, MA – October 16, 2017, The Scullion Strategy Group, LLC is pleased to announce that an exclusive option agreement, effective as of September 27, 2017, has been executed with Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) that gives the Scullion Strategy Group the exclusive right to negotiate a worldwide, royalty-bearing license to patent rights in the field of semen analysis for veterinary use.
Investigators at BWH, a nonprofit teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School and a founding member of Partners HealthCare, set out to develop a mobile diagnostic test that could be used to measure human semen quality using a smartphone-based device. Published in Science Translational Medicine and featured on CNNTech earlier this year, the test analyzes and identifies abnormal semen samples with approximately 98 percent accuracy. The analyzer consists of an optical attachment that can connect to a smartphone and a disposable device onto which a semen sample is uploaded. The app records video of the sperm and uses an algorithm to measure concentration and motility in less than five seconds. concentration and motility in less than five seconds.
"We are excited to extend our research and technology to further advance animal fertility and breeding through this agreement,” said Dr. Hadi Shafiee, principal investigator in the Division of Engineering in Medicine and Renal Division at BWH. “By integrating advancements in computing algorithms, digital health and micro-fabrication, we have the potential of bringing rapid, sensitive, low-cost and automated semen analysis to point-of-care animal health practitioners.
The Scullion Strategy Group saw animal health applications for this smartphone-based microchip platform technology and believes that the largest opportunity for this technology is in livestock production. They say that this technology will dramatically improve efficiency by bringing an accelerated, objective, and comparable method for measuring reproduction potential in the swine and bovine markets.
“This technology offers a revolutionary tool for animal producers, equine breeders and even dog and cat breeders,” said Sherry Scullion, President of the Scullion Strategy Group. “Current methods of animal health breeding do not allow for animal-side testing of semen samples and is completely subjective to the operator conducting the analysis under a microscope. We believe that this technology can significantly transform the animal health reproduction industry for the better.”
“As an owner, trainer, and breeder of Thoroughbred race and sport horses for almost 20 years, this technology represents a major advancement for the equine breeding industry,” said Liane Hart, who is also an Equine and Companion Animal Commercial Strategist with the Scullion Strategy Group. “From the stallion manager who wants to quickly ensure the stallion roster is ready for the breeding season to the broodmare manager who wants to ensure a healthy embryo, this technology offers an accurate, convenient, and low-cost option that will improve our breeding practices.”
During this exclusive option period with BWH, the Scullion Strategy Group will build the business plan and secure investment of capital funding required to develop and customize the technology for the animal health reproduction market.The Scullion Strategy Group envisions a substantial opportunity in commercializing this semen analyzer for the animal health industry.
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MEDIA CONTACT
Sherry Scullion
President, Scullion Strategy Group
336-209-4941
ABOUT SCULLION STRATEGY GROUP
The Scullion Strategy Group, LLC, Life Sciences Division, is a consulting firm specializing in bringing new innovations to market in the animal health and healthcare industries by turning insights into tangible and commercialized realities. Areas of expertise include innovation strategy, marketing and analytics, biotechnology and statistics, third party manufacturing, supply chain and logistics, quality assurance and compliance. The Scullion Strategy Group is certified as a Women’s Business Enterprise by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), the nation’s largest third-party certifier of the businesses owned and operated by women in the U.S. For more information about the company, please visit www.scullionstrategygroup.com.
