Prolistem is the culmination of a lot of hard work, research, and thinking. Our main goal in all our research is to find solutions that can help other people. Thirty years ago, men with azoospermia had no options for having children.

In the 1990s, a new surgery was developed to extract viable sperm directly from the testicles. This, along with advancements in technology and equipment, led to the improvement of the TESE procedure into MicroTESE, providing new hope for more couples with azoospermia.

Spermatogenesis is a highly researched subject. The more we learn and understand about this complex process, the more new ideas and solutions are developed. We can think of it like a puzzle – the more pieces we discover, the clearer the picture becomes.

During our research on spermatogonial stem cells, we developed a unique technique to isolate and culture them in-vitro, producing sperm in a lab dish. Our two main goals were to learn more about stem cell behavior and develop new methods to create sperm in the lab for men with azoospermia. This incredible research was conducted in collaboration with the Institute of Reproductive- and Regenerative Biology, Centre of Reproductive Medicine and Andrology, Münster. Prof. Stefan Schlatt and Dr. Jan-Bernd Stukenborg were instrumental in this breakthrough, and we have published several articles about this topic (Click here to download).

During our research, we made a fascinating discovery we haven’t shared before. We explored the effects of various substances like cytokines, growth factors, and hormones on Spermatogonial Stem Cell growth and development. Surprisingly, we found that testosterone had the opposite effect – it inhibited SSC growth and triggered cell death.

Building on this knowledge, our research at MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas, revealed that testosterone suppression renews SSCs’ ability to proliferate and differentiate. However, without testosterone, sperm production remains absent (Click here to download).

Incredible people, incredible research – our team at MD Anderson Cancer Center, with Prof. Marvin Meistrich and Prof. Gunapala Shetty, played a crucial role.

Connecting all the dots from our and other research led to the birth of Prolistem. In 2012, our company was founded. By 2017, we secured a patent and successfully created Prolistem, specifically designed for Non-Obstructive Azoospermia.

Our vision is to become the gold standard of azoospermia treatment worldwide. And we won’t stop here – we’ll continue our research journey to find more solutions that can help others.