on thursday Aegis Ventures launched new startup When Northwell Holdingsthe venture capital arm of northwell healthA New York City-based company named . up rib, Focuses on virtual menopause care.
Aegis said in April to invest At least $100 million in seed-stage funding to launch and develop a joint venture with Northwell Health. Partners project his Upliv seed funding to be his $8.4 million by the end of 2023.
Aegis and Northwell Holdings created Upliv to better serve the estimated one million American women who go through menopause each year, startup CEO Allison Schoeneck said in a recent interview.
When a woman goes through menopause, complex changes occur in multiple systems in her body. Hot flashes, night sweats, sexual dysfunction, depression, insomnia, and muscle aches, women experience moderate to debilitating symptoms in a range of areas that are not often talked about in the medical community. M. She added that many women feel forced to navigate this stage of life alone.
“Fortunately, many women go to their primary care physicians and obstetricians for treatment, but most clinicians do not actually have specific training or expertise in menopause,” says Schoeneck. said Mr. “In fact, only about 20% of OB/GYN programs offer any type of menopausal training, and 75% of women receive no treatment at all. We created Upliv to change that paradigm.”
The startup partners with employers to provide virtual care services to perimenopausal and menopausal employees. Upliv’s platform gives women access to educational resources, prescriptions, patient-to-patient discussion boards, and video consultations with clinicians and health coaches trained in menopausal care. The care provided by the startup is North American Menopause Society.
Initially, Upliv’s services will be available to Northwell employees. New York state’s largest health system surveyed 900 employees and found most respondents experienced moderate to severe menopausal symptoms, including hot flashes, weight gain, trouble sleeping and fatigue Did.
To address this, Northwell is beginning a pilot program with a select number of nurses before rolling out Upliv’s services system-wide in the first quarter of next year.
Schoeneck said Upliv plans to roll out the service to more employers in mid-2023. She said the startup’s program is offered to employees as a benefit at zero cost.
Dr. Stacey Rosen, Senior Vice President, Northwell’s Katz Institute for Women’s HealthSaid med city news She hopes that in the next few years, more employers will add Upliv’s program as a benefit package.
“Providing this benefit reflects the respect that a company has for women,” said Dr. Rosen. “And the platform is extremely valuable when it comes to time with clinical providers and the vast amount of education and support in areas that traditional healthcare delivery does not focus on, such as sleep, behavioral health issues, and nutrition. is multifaceted.”
When it comes to competition, Upliv isn’t the only menopause-focused startup. In addition, villa health When evernowSchoeneck argued that Upliv is differentiated by its focus on pursuing the job market and making services free for women. She also noted that Upliv’s partnership with Northwell is unique.
“Integration with Northwell allows us to connect patients to the right provider if needed,” says Schoeneck. “So we can not only work in silos, but really connect with the different kinds of resources and care women may need.”
Photo: Toa55, Getty Images
