Information Charlottesville

A company called PS-Fertility will invest $1.4 million to establish operations in Albemarle County.  That’s according to an economic development press release sent out this morning by Governor Glenn Youngkin.

“The company will lease 4,000 square feet of space at 3030 Vision Lane in Charlottesville, which will serve as its headquarters and house a test kit assembly operation and a diagnostic laboratory,” reads the release. 

That location is off of Old Lynchburg Road on land that has been developed as part of the Albemarle Business Campus approved by the Board of Supervisors in October 2020. 

PS-Fertility is a start-up company that uses technology developed at the University of Virginia to detect whether a male is fertile. After a sample is collected, kits are mailed back to the lab for diagnostic review. Albemarle County worked with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership on an incentive package for the deal arranged through the “Virginia Jobs Investment Program” or VJIP. 

“As a business incentive supporting economic development, VJIP reduces the human resource costs of new and expanding companies. VJIP is state-funded, demonstrating Virginia’s commitment to enhancing job opportunities for citizens.

Kevin Combs, the chief executive officer of PS-Fertility, said this arrangement is helping the company’s idea result in a new venture for the Commonwealth and the community. 

“This valuable scientific discovery made at the University of Virginia has significant benefits for people interested in reproductive health as well as to the state’s economy,” Combs is quoted in a press release. “As a result, we anticipate launching our company’s advanced testing platform to measure and analyze male fertility levels in the very near future.”

This initiative had the code name Project Hatch while the deal was still in development.

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