BUSINESS PUNK: The Handmaid’s Scale

What happens when your desire to have a child meets biological limits? In other words: when you simply can’t get pregnant?

According to the WHO, one in six adults worldwide experiences infertility. French biotech startup Igyxos aims to transform fertility treatment with a new molecule: its antibody is designed to enhance the effect of a hormone that regulates both egg maturation and sperm production. A potential treatment that could help women and men alike.

The company has already raised €27 million. Early clinical results offer hope, but its effectiveness in humans has yet to be demonstrated.

For BUSINESS PUNK, I also spoke with Stephen J. Shaw, director of the documentary “Birthgap”. He explains how declining birth rates put long-term pressure on labour markets, pension systems and social welfare. An article about scientific hope, an ambitious business model and what it means for society when fewer and fewer children are born.

Print feature for BUSINESS PUNK, issue #3/2026.