The Science of Stem Cells and Social Impact: Inside Ovelle with Merrick Smela and Travis Potter
Nucleate PodcastShow Notes
Merrick Smela, Chief Scientific Officer, and Travis Potter, Chief Executive Officer of Ovelle, joined the Nucleate Podcast to discuss their mission to revolutionize infertility treatment using in vitro gametogenesis (IVG). IVG is the process of creating eggs from normal cells that can be fertilized and implanted, a method first demonstrated in mice in 2016. Ovelle's goal is to provide an option for individuals who cannot use IVF, such as cancer survivors or those with low ovarian reserve, and eventually to offer a superior alternative to traditional IVF by producing an unlimited number of eggs from a simple tissue sample, avoiding hormone treatments and surgical procedures. The company's unique scientific approach involves identifying and directly activating gene regulatory factors to quickly achieve a particular cell state. This "direct regulatory factor expression approach" is significantly faster than trying to mimic the natural biology of egg development, which can take 14 years or more inside a woman's ovaries. Smela's recent research, completed during his PhD at Harvard, identified regulatory factors that can initiate meiosis—a critical step where eggs get the correct number of chromosomes—in about 12 days.
Travis Potter, who transitioned from a nearly 20-year career in finance at Goldman Sachs and a hedge fund, was motivated by his personal struggles with having a second child, noticing the lack of innovation in IVF over the past 45 years and the minimal global funding for IVG research. He found that building Ovelle required a shift in focus from the "ruthless culture" of finance to one prioritizing "meaning versus money," with biotech driven by a mission to have a positive impact on others' lives. The co-founders emphasized the critical need for strong prioritization, using a "critical path analysis" to focus limited resources on the minimal steps necessary for success, such as erasing DNA methylation, ensuring meiosis, and growing the eggs to a sufficient size. While challenges remain, including combining myiotic and supporting cells to form reconstituted ovarian follicles, the final step—in vitro maturation (IVM)—has already been achieved in humans. Ultimately, the team is focused on first achieving a proof of concept, followed by extensive quality control, optimization, and safety trials, including in non-human primates, before the technology is safe for human use.
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