PS Fertility

PS Fertility, Inc. is a medical diagnostic laboratory aiming to refine the diagnosis and treatment of male infertility. The company was established based on a discovery at the University of Virginia, where researchers identified phosphatidylserine (PS) as a critical biomarker on sperm essential for fertilization. This finding addressed a significant gap, as conventional semen analysis often overlooks men who are infertile despite having normal results in standard tests.

Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia, PS Fertility was co-founded by CEO Kevin Combs, Chief Scientific Officer Jeff Lysiak, PhD, and Kodi Ravichandran, PhD. Their work commercializes patent-pending research from the University of Virginia Medical School. In January 2023, the company announced a $1.4 million investment to establish its headquarters, a test kit assembly operation, and a diagnostic laboratory in Albemarle County, creating 31 new jobs. A significant milestone was achieved in June 2025 with the completion of a $3.5 million Series A funding round, intended to support the launch and scaling of its primary product. This round was led by Flourish Investments LLC and the Cassiopeia Foundation, with participation from entities like the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation.

The company's core business revolves around its flagship product, PS Detect, a mail-order diagnostic test. This service operates on an at-home sample collection model, where individuals mail samples to the central laboratory for analysis. PS Detect measures the percentage of sperm cells that have phosphatidylserine on their surface, providing a more precise assessment of male fertility than traditional methods, which focus on count, motility, and morphology. Research has shown that low PS levels are particularly common in men with conditions like varicocele. The results from the PS Detect test empower physicians and patients to make more informed decisions, potentially saving time and money on the path to conception by guiding them toward the most effective fertility treatments.

Keywords: male infertility diagnostics, fertility testing, sperm analysis, phosphatidylserine (PS), PS Detect, at-home fertility test, reproductive health, medical diagnostic laboratory, University of Virginia spinoff, Kevin Combs, Jeff Lysiak, Kodi Ravichandran, varicocele infertility, sperm biomarker, fertility care, reproductive sciences, CLIA certified lab, mail-order diagnostic test, semen analysis, fertilization capability, Albemarle County life sciences, Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation, Flourish Investments