Elektra Health, a digital health platform that empowers women navigating the menopause journey via evidence-based education, medical care, and community, has joined the UPMC Enterprises portfolio.
Women’s health venture activity has flourished in the past five years, according to a report from Silicon Valley Bank, with investment growing 314% since 2018, compared to a 28% increase in overall health care investments. (Silicon Valley Bank, 2023). The market has cooled recently, from a peak of over $2.5B in 2021 to $707M as of October 2023, but substantial opportunity remains, especially given the announcement of the first ever White House initiative on women’s health research led by First Lady Jill Biden and the White House Gender Policy Council. (The White House, 2023)
In 2019, UPMC Enterprises identified women’s health, more specifically menopause, as an area of interest in the market and proactively engaged the UPMC Midlife Health Center (MLHC), part of UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital, to explore it further. Through this collaboration with the MLHC, UPMC Enterprises was able to deeply understand patient and provider needs. Some common challenges that appeared were provider bandwidth and efficiency as well as misinformation within the menopause space. Additionally, through a patient survey, UPMC Enterprises learned that patients were interested in technology for support. As part of a rigorous due diligence process, UPMC Enterprises deployed a “tiger team” – a specialized, cross-functional team created to solve or investigate a specific problem or critical issue. Many companies were evaluated during this process and the MLHC recommended Elektra Health as the standout company.
“Our investment in and conviction around Elektra was enhanced by the strong partnership we built with UPMC’s Midlife Health Center and Women’s Health Service Line,” said Kathryn Heffernan, Senior Director of Strategic Product Management at UPMC Enterprises. “Their clinical and operational insight helped us deeply understand the problems that patients and providers face and their input was critical as we evaluated the companies in the market to inform our strategy.”
Founded in 2019, Elektra Health empowers 50+ million women currently navigating menopause with a holistic, evidence-based care model. The company’s platform combines personalized support from experts, physician-vetted education, and virtual care from board-certified clinicians. The new financing from UPMC Enterprises will help Elektra expand across payers, self-insured employers, and new markets.
“UPMC is interested in investing in solutions that focus on empowering women and Elektra proved to have all the elements UPMC values in this space: evidence-based education and care that prioritizes women’s health needs and drives outcomes,” said Heffernan. “The goal of the Elektra platform is to fill a gap and provide innovative opportunities to strengthen the doctor-patient relationship as women move through the menopause transition.”
To learn more about Elektra’s groundbreaking work, visit their website.
Press
Sources
Silicon Valley Bank, 2023, Innovation in Women’s Health Report, https://www.svb.com/trends-insights/reports/womens-health-report.
The White House, The United States Government, 2023, www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/11/13/fact-sheet-president-joe-biden-to-announce-first-ever-white-house-initiative-on-womens-health-research-an-effort-led-by-first-lady-jill-biden-and-the-white-house-gender-policy-council/.
