In daily contact with patients, the entire MatriceLab team is aware that the cost of the test is currently a major economic barrier. The clinical studies required to obtain reimbursement have made good progress over the last 18 months, and we hope to be able to publish the very good figures for the Hospital Program for Clinical Research (PHRC) conducted in France in the very near future.
This research program is a cornerstone of the dossier that will be submitted to the French National Authority for Health (HAS) to obtain reimbursement of the test for patients and couples undergoing ART.
The essential initial uterine immune profile
Thanks to the analysis of biomarkers identified (and scientifically published) by the team led by Dr Nathalie Lédée and Marie Petitbarat, the MatriceLab test can be used to draw up a uterine immune profile to understand embryo implantation failures and recurrent miscarriages. This first phase requires a biopsy to be taken by the reproductive physician using a kit supplied by the laboratory, then sent and analyzed by the MatriceLab teams.
This initial check-up detects any deregulations in the endometrium’s immune activity, leading to implantation failures or repeated unexplained miscarriages. The endometrium is not ready to receive the embryo, and a cause is finally identified thanks to immunology. In order to best prepare the endometrium to receive the next embryo, a personalized treatment is then proposed to the patient to maximize her chances of success.
Personalized care for the next implantation attempt
The sub-therapeutic workup is a follow-up to the initial workup to assess the efficacy of the proposed treatment. If the results of the sub-therapeutic workup do not restore the immune balance, we propose an adaptation of the treatment. To maximize patient success rates, we have decided to reduce the cost of this sub-therapeutic check-up from 416€ to 300€.
“In some cases, therefore, this avoids implantation failure because the patient does not respond or does not respond sufficiently to the initial treatment suggested. According to the results of our article published in 2020, in which we compared patients with overactivation or a mixed profile who had undergone a sub-therapeutic test (150 patients) with those who had not (814), pregnancy rates were significantly higher in patients who had undergone this control test (from 39.9% without a test to 51% with a therapeutic test)”, explains Marie Petitbarat, co-founder of MatriceLab.
Dr. Nathalie Lédée goes even further: “Stopping in the middle of the process exposes patients to further failure or miscarriage when treatments do not, or not sufficiently, normalize the problem. We’re working hard to find new markers or identify specific profiles that would attest to resistance or sensitivity to the various therapies (and thus avoid this test), but we’re only at the beginning of this new phase of research”.
Over and above the increase in the initial check-up due to cyclical increases beyond the laboratory’s control, lowering the price of sub-therapeutic check-ups by 30% is a major gesture for patients, pending reimbursement by the Caisse Nationale d’Assurance Maladie in France.