A start-up trying to detect endometriosis through "smart stamps" has just won $ 9 million in Series A funding – TechCrunch

There is no shortage of so-called start-up femtech collecting money currently, and it is no wonder that one wonders why.

In addition to growing market opportunities – global market for fertility services is expected to reach $ 31 billion by 2023, says consulting firm Allied Market Research, nearly double the level recorded in 2016 – more and more women ask for information about their reproductive health. doctor visits of a minute do not do the business.

The newest venture capital fund recipient: NextGen Jane, a 4.5-year-old company based in Oakland, Calif., Who hopes to use blood drawn from tampons to find the early markers of endometriosis and, hopefully, well, cervical cancer and other disorders.

The company announced today that it has secured $ 9 million in Series A financing under the leadership of Material Impact, a new Materials Technology Fund, which we reported on in March. last November. Other participants in the series include Access Industries, international investors Viking, Liminal Ventures and many notable angels, including Ph.Ds from Harvard University and Stanford University.

His approach is much more acceptable than the option that women have long endured, namely inserting a small camera into the pelvic cavity in search of endometrial cells. (Note: women usually find themselves in this position only after enduring an astonishing pain that drives them to consult their doctor.) The idea behind NextGen Jane is rather to wear a custom pad made for about two hours, placed in a test tube. as part of a home kit, and sent to a laboratory for further badysis.

Of course, it has to work first, and the technology has not been approved by the FDA. In fact, this has not been proven at all.

Funding could potentially make a difference. In an interview with Technology Review last month, NextGen's CEO and co-founder, Ridhi Tariyal, said that a clinical trial was designed and that it was ready for operation, but that NextGen Jane needed to capital to conduct a trial on about 800 women to establish the diagnostic effectiveness of menstrual disorders. some blood. With funding, she said, it would take about two years for the company to collect a significant amount of data.

Jane NextGen had already raised $ 2.3 million in funding.

TechCrunch has published numerous reports on the recent and dramatic increase in the number of investments at femtech. You can find a much deeper topic about who raised what recently and why here.