Boston-based biotech company raises US$13.5m to develop endometriosis test

A Boston-based biotech company has raised US$13.5m in funding to develop new integrated clinical solutions for women.

Heranova Lifesciences is looking to address the unmet needs in women’s healthcare by developing new diagnostic tools, drugs and devices for some of the most common women’s health conditions.

The biotech start-up aims to use the funding to launch a serial of non-invasive endometriosis tests and advance two non-hormonal and non-antibiotic therapeutic programmes for endometriosis and bacterial vaginosis.

The company is also seeking global and regional partnerships for other women’s health indications.

“Despite the fact that women play a critical role in modern societies and economy, the awareness and solutions for their critical health issues are largely under-recognised and outdated,” said Dr Jonathan Y. Zhao, co-founder and CEO of Heranova.

“As a global women’s health company, Heranova was founded with a mission to challenge this status quo by taking a holistic approach so that we could enable women to live their better lives.”

Dr Hugh Taylor, chief of obstetrics and gynaecology at Yale New Haven Hospital and member of Heranova’s scientific advisory board, said: “Endometriosis is a highly prevalent and debilitating women’s disease with large diagnostic and treatment unmet needs. 176 million endometriosis patients worldwide are suffering from excessive pain, abnormal menstrual bleeding, and infertility.

“Unfortunately, the diagnosis of endometriosis today is often delayed by eight to 12 years on average. We are excited to see that Heranova is committed to bringing innovative solutions to address this gap.”

Dr Farideh Bischoff, chief diagnostic medical officer at Heranova, added: “Having access to convenient and reliable diagnostic tests will be a key milestone in the overall management of endometriosis and other women’s diseases.

“The diagnostic products developed by our R&D team have received endorsement from global leading KOLs as they may help to significantly shorten the time from disease onset to diagnosis and subsequent treatment. To provide an integrated solution, we are also developing first-in-class, non-hormonal therapeutic programs for endometriosis.”

Institutional investors such as Pivotal bioVenture Partners China, Sinovation Ventures, Emerging Technology Partners and Triwise Capital participated in this round.