Every year 15 million babies are born preterm (before 37 weeks gestational age) worldwide, accounting for ~12% of all live births- more than 1 in 10 babies and closer to 1 in 5 in some countries. This number is rising- 25% increase in the last 15 years¹. Many maternal factors have been associated with an increased risk of spontaneous preterm birth, including young or advanced maternal age and short inter-pregnancy intervals. Another important risk factor is uterine over-distension with multiple pregnancies. Multiple pregnancies carry nearly 10 times the risk of preterm birth compared to singleton births. Naturally occurring multiple pregnancies vary among ethnic groups, but a large contributor to the incidence of multiple pregnancies has been rising maternal age and the increasing availability of assisted conception in high-income countries. Some lifestyle factors including alcohol consumption are also associated with an increased risk of preterm birth.
Approximately one million children die each year worldwide due to complications from their early birth. Prematurity is the world’s single biggest cause of newborn death, and the second leading cause of all child deaths. Those that survive often face chronic health problems and disabilities.
Premature infants suffer from multiple short- and long-term complications. Many have breathing difficulties due to their immature respiratory system, temperature-control problems, gastrointestinal problems because of their immature gut that is unable to effectively break down and absorb nutrition and ophthalmology problems (potentially leading to blindness) because of their underdeveloped eyes. Many preemies will suffer from impaired learning, cognitive difficulties, behavioral and psychological problems, and other chronic health issues.
Premature infants are often hospitalized for prolonged periods in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) and undergo many invasive procedures required to keep them alive and enable them to continue developing.
There are high costs associated with pre-term birth, both short and long-term. Those include expenses for difficult delivery, hospitalization, early intervention, long term complications management, special education, lost productivity and more. A pre-term birth will cost about 10 times as much as a full-term birth, meaning that approximately 10% of births are responsible for 60% of birth associated costs². Prematurity remains a significant burden on the society and on the healthcare systems worldwide.
ELGN-GI demonstrated a significant improvement in gastrointestinal (GI) maturation and function, leading to faster nutritional independence while greatly reducing complications.
Address newborns’ medical challenges in the critical period post-birth
ELGN-EYE is aimed at preventing vision impairment due to retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) by stimulating normal retinal development while reducing inflammation and oxidative stress.