Cambridge Temperature Concepts gains medical approval for revolutionary fertility monitor DuoFertility and ships first units

CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cambridge Temperature Concepts (CTC) today announced receiving medical approval for their revolutionary non-invasive fertility monitor – DuoFertility. CTC have now begun shipping DuoFertility monitors to one hundred couples across Europe, selected by the Company to trial the device and give feedback on its usability and design before product launch. This news comes just one year after the Company received seed-funding of £375,000 in private investment to aid product development. To view product images of DuoFertility, visit: http://www.duofertility.com/press.

“Even by the standards of Cambridge, Europe's largest biotech cluster, to go from seed funding to shipping an approved medical product in just 12 months is a real achievement. I have no doubt that Cambridge Temperature Concepts will continue this astounding pace in 2009 with the product launch of DuoFertility.”

CTC was founded in 2005 by a team of fertility and technology experts from the University of Cambridge to help the increasing number of couples who face difficulty conceiving a baby by developing a more accurate, convenient and reliable way to detect ovulation. In January 2008, CTC closed a seed-funding round of £375,000 to aid the development of their revolutionary non-invasive fertility monitor – DuoFertility. Since then, the Company has moved rapidly from prototyping to productisation by focusing on its core strengths in research and development, and working with external consultancies on product design and manufacturing. Having received medical approval for sale throughout the EU, the first product trials of DuoFertility are now underway, involving one hundred couples across Europe.

Company Chairman Dr. Jonathan Milner, Cambridge Angel and lead investor in CTC, said; "Even by the standards of Cambridge, Europe's largest biotech cluster, to go from seed funding to shipping an approved medical product in just 12 months is a real achievement. I have no doubt that Cambridge Temperature Concepts will continue this astounding pace in 2009 with the product launch of DuoFertility."

The market for fertility monitors is large and growing, with 1 in 6 European couples facing problems conceiving. Identifying precisely when ovulation occurs is critical to a couple’s chances of conceiving a baby. Unlike other fertility monitors currently on the market which require daily urine samples, manual body basal temperature readings and complicated charts to detect when ovulation occurs, DuoFertility consists of a tiny sensor embedded in a small patch the size of a coin and a compact digital hand-held reader. The stick-on patch can be worn discreetly by a woman under the arm and continuously monitors for the most accurate domestic indicator of ovulation - a half-degree change in a woman's body temperature. The compact digital hand-held reader shows the results whenever desired, allowing couples to pinpoint the optimum time for conception.

Dr. Shamus Husheer, CEO of Cambridge Temperature Concepts said; “We are delighted to announce gaining medical approval for DuoFertility and shipping units in our first user trials – two important milestones on our streamlined product roadmap. The feedback from the trials will enable us to deliver the best fertility monitor on the market, and realise our goal of helping more couples build families.”

Editors’ Notes:

Cambridge Temperature Concepts Limited

Cambridge Temperature Concepts are developers of a novel fertility monitor - DuoFertility - that improves couples' chances of conception by providing convenient, accurate and reliable information. Worn as a small stick-on patch under the arm, DuoFertility continuously measures a woman's body temperature to identify when ovulation occurs and thereby help maximise the chances of conception. CTC is funded by the Cambridge Angels, Cambridge Capital Group, Downing Enterprise and private investors.