About
Epigenetics is the heritable, long-term modification of gene activity without alterations to the DNA sequence. These modifications are caused by human development, aging, environmental exposures, and disease. In other words, a parent’s experiences can be inherited by future generations. Episona is a digital health company evaluating how epigenetic modifications, specifically, changes in DNA methylation, are inherited and impact the very first pregnancy stages. Episona's first product is a panel measuring epigenetic changes on sperm DNA, which predict the likelihood of a successful pregnancy. This diagnostic test will reduce anxiety-causing unknowns and unnecessary costs to patients seeking reproductive assistance, and improve the success rates for fertility specialists. Broadly, Episona is developing a data aggregation and analytics platform to evaluate epigenetic patterns within the human genome that predict human diseases involving fertility and mental health.