CITIC-Xiangya Hospital Reports 44,596 ART Cycles in 2017, Largest Scale in China, and Files IPO Prospectus
“I am fortunate to be one of the 44,596 lucky individuals. In November, I had a single blastocyst transferred, and I am now 12 weeks pregnant. My heartfelt thanks go to all the staff at CITIC-Xiangya Hospital of Reproduction and Genetics, and especially to my attending physician, Dr. Guo Hui, for making my dream of motherhood come true. I am truly happy!” Thus wrote a patient who successfully conceived through assisted reproductive technology on the official WeChat account of CITIC-Xiangya Hospital of Reproduction and Genetics, expressing her joy at becoming a mother.
VCBeat (WeChat: vcbeat) has learned that CITIC-Xiangya Hospital, the assisted reproductive technology hospital with the highest annual cycle volume in China, officially announced on January 10 that the hospitalThe number of assisted reproductive treatment cycles reached 44,596., on the basis of such a large volume of treatments, in vitro fertilization (IVF)The average pregnancy rate remains as high as 62.4%.(January–November).
In addition, in 2017, the hospital completed 3,728 PGD/PGS cycles, performed 9,485 genetic diagnostic tests, and conducted 54,215 chromosomal analyses, all reaching record highs. This further demonstrates the hospital’s solid leading position and strong capabilities within the industry.
Over the past two years,Rapid Growth in the Number of Preimplantation Genetic Testing Cycles in China, taking CITIC-Xiangya Hospital as an example, there were 876 PGD/PGS cycles in 2014, which increased to 2,429 by 2016, representing a 277% growth over two years, with 700 cases being PGD in 2016. More importantly, research capabilities in this field continue to expand.
As China’s largest assisted reproductive technology (ART) institution, CITIC-Xiangya completed over 41,000 ART treatment cycles in 2016. According to data from the UK journal Nature,Equivalent to one-quarter of the annual treatment volume in the United States. The number of preimplantation genetic tests increased by 277% within two years.
It is reported that CITIC Xiangya Hospital, asMixed-Ownership Healthcare Institutions Controlled by Central State-Owned Enterprises, has become a flagship in the field of assisted reproduction in China and even worldwide by relying on the development model of integrating industry, academia, and research over the years. Currently, the number of infants born through artificial assisted reproduction at this hospital has exceeded 110,000 cases.
In 2016, with the full implementation of the two-child policy and patients aged 35 and above accounting for more than one-third of the total,The average pregnancy rate remains at a high level of over 60%.
Since 1980, under the leadership of Professor Lu Guangxiu, Honorary President and Chief Scientist—a renowned Chinese expert in reproductive medicine and medical genetics—CITIC-Xiangya Hospital has pioneered the research, clinical application, and development of human assisted reproductive technologies and medical genetics in China, placing high priority on talent cultivation and scientific research.
As of December 2017, the hospital had 9 doctoral supervisors, 23 master’s supervisors, 10 postdoctoral fellows, 125 individuals with doctoral degrees, and 265 individuals with master’s degrees. It had published 750 papers, including 218 indexed in SCI, and undertaken 158 research projects, of which 50 were national-level projects.
CITIC-Xiangya Reproductive & Genetic Hospital was established in 2002,It is a modern specialized hospital jointly established by a central state-owned enterprise (CITIC Healthcare), a university (Central South University), and a research team led by Professor Lu Guangxiu., formerly the Infertility and Genetics Outpatient Department of Xiangya School of Medicine, was approved in 2016 as Hunan’s first tertiary-level specialized hospital for reproductive medicine and genetics.
In 2012, the world’s first IVF babies born after whole-genome sequencing were delivered at this hospital.China’s First “Cancer-Free Baby” Born in 2015, the baby's father is a patient with retinoblastoma. Thanks to PGD technology, the hospital helped him avoid having another child carrying this pathogenic gene.
In 2016, the MicroSeq technology was invented to address fertility challenges in patients with chromosomal translocations. Chromosomal translocation refers to structural abnormalities that do not alter the total amount of chromatin, including balanced translocations and Robertsonian translocations. Chromosomal translocations are not uncommon in the general population; for instance, the prevalence of balanced translocations is 1/500, while that of Robertsonian translocations is 1/1000.
Based on the National Bureau of Statistics’ reported figure of 16.55 million live births in 2015, it is estimated that approximately 33,100 new carriers of balanced chromosomal translocations and 16,550 new carriers of Robertsonian translocations emerged in China in 2015.
“The innovation of MicroSeq technology lies not only in enabling patients with chromosomal translocations to achieve healthy reproduction, but also in precisely identifying the genes at the chromosomal breakpoints, thereby providing early warning for potential future diseases in symptomatic chromosomal disorder patients,” said Dr. Lin Ge, Deputy Director of CITIC-Xiangya Reproductive and Genetic Hospital.
MicroSeq technology is another successful case operated by the Hunan Provincial Preconception Diagnosis Sub-center of the National Demonstration Center for Genetic Testing Technology Applications, following the “Cancer-Free Baby” technology.
On the path to digitalization, on February 18, 2017, the WeChat official account of CITIC-Xiangya Reproductive and Genetic Hospital launched its appointment registration function, greatly facilitating patients, especially those from other regions. Subsequently, features such as in-clinic payment, report inquiry, and online consultation were gradually added, effectively streamlining the patient care experience.
The following are the landmark achievements of several national "Seventh Five-Year Plan" key research projects, which serve as the technical foundation for this hospital (including its predecessor). These achievements mainly include:
1. Established the first human sperm cryobank in China (1981);
2. The first baby in China conceived through artificial insemination with frozen sperm was born (1983);
3. Delivered China’s first IVF baby via donor embryo transfer (1988);
4. Established the first animal model for preimplantation genetic diagnosis in China (1990);
5. The world’s first normal infant conceived following treatment with teratozoospermia separation technology was born (1991);
6. Established the first animal model for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) in China (1994);
7. Produced the first batch of nuclear transfer mice in China (1996);
8. Achieved the world’s first human nuclear transfer blastocyst (1999);
9. The first IVF baby in China was born through frozen-thawed embryo transfer after ultra-rapid freezing (2000);
10. The first normal infant in China was born after preimplantation genetic diagnosis excluded “Duchenne muscular dystrophy” (2005);
11. The world’s first IVF babies conceived with PGD/PGS guided by whole-genome sequencing were born (2012);
12. The first “cancer-free baby” in China was born (2015);
13. Invented MicroSeq, a novel technology for diagnosing chromosomal translocations, leading to the birth of the first batch of healthy infants (2016).