Women’s health company raises US$10m to tackle uterine disorders

The women’s health company OCON Therapeutics has secured US$10m in funding to address uterine disorders.

OCON aims to develop new drug delivery systems for treating some of the most prevalent uterine pathologies, based on the company’s IUB (Intra-Uterine Ball) platform.

The investment round, led by RH Capital, is hoped to help OCON advance its solutions, with a focus on improving patient outcomes and experiences.

“Our mission at OCON Therapeutics is to create a new standard of care and give women and physicians additional choices that are safe and innovative,” said Keren Leshem, CEO of OCON Therapeutics.

“We address the most prevalent uterine pathologies, more common than diabetes or heart disease, while ensuring targeted and lower-dose treatments to alleviate side effects and minimise risks associated with surgeries or non-compliance to oral medication.

“This latest investment is a testament of our investors’ confidence in OCON’s technology and strategic direction.

“We are grateful to our investors and excited to advance our clinical programmes, expand our product offerings, and bring our innovative solutions to more women around the world,” she added.

Through its IUB platform, OCON is set to advance its IUB SEAD and IUB PRIMA assets, both designed to tackle abnormal and heavy uterine bleeding, affecting 15 per cent of the global population, providing long-term hormonal and short-term non-hormonal options for treatment.

The company said it was also dedicated to sustaining its “legacy product”, the IUB Ballerine, a non-hormonal long-term contraception method.

Additionally, the start-up announced it was “gearing up” to initiate a Series A funding round which would support expanding its product pipeline to tackle endometriosis and uterine fibroids.

Jenny Barba, co-founder and managing partner of Features Capital, said: “As a leader in the industry, OCON’s financing milestone is a tremendous accomplishment for Keren and the team.

“Features Capital invested in OCON because we believe the IUB is a revolutionary platform for treating a variety of gynaecological conditions directly at the target tissue.

“We invest in and engage with teams to create breakthrough solutions that radically transform patient outcomes, improve health economics, and bridge health inequities in multi-billion dollar global markets. OCON’s groundbreaking technologies align perfectly with our thesis of unlocking medtech.”

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