Under the Microscope: Axena Health

Why Avestria Invested in This Pelvic Health-Focused Startup

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In this series, we explain why we invested in our current portfolio companies. In the process, we hope to highlight the white spaces in women’s health and the life sciences — as well as the people, products, and companies working to fill those gaps. The name “Under the Microscope” refers both to our extensive due diligence process and our investment focus on healthcare and the life sciences.

You can find the original version of this post on Medium.

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“Ladies, admit it. You’re doing Kegels right now.” This advertisement appeared on the Long Island Railroad in 2013, both a part of a series of ads promoting a then-new health-based channel and a reminder of an exercise that has been a quintessential part of women’s health for the last 75 years: Kegels.

Kegels, or pelvic floor exercises, involve relaxing and contracting the muscles that form part of the pelvic floor to prevent and treat pelvic floor disorders (PFDs), which 32% of women (and 16% of men) will experience in their lifetime. PFDs occur when the pelvic muscles or the connective tissues of the pelvis are torn or are weakened, potentially leading to pelvic organ prolapse (when one or more of the pelvic organs slips down from their normal position) and to urinary and/or fecal incontinence. Kegels are usually the first line of treatment for strengthening the pelvic floor and treating pelvic floor disorders; they are a non-invasive alternative to other treatment options such as injections, medications, nerve stimulations, or surgeries.

Despite this ubiquity, however, Kegels are not always performed, much less performed correctly. As few as 25% of women with a pelvic floor disorder do Kegels, and, of that already small percentage, fewer than 25% do Kegels adequately.

 Axena Health is addressing pelvic health, which includes Kegel exercises.

 Axena’s Leva® Pelvic Health System is an FDA-approved, at-home, clinician-prescribed solution to help women strengthen their pelvic floor to treat urinary and fecal incontinence. More than 60% of adult women in the United States experience urinary incontinence and about 7–15% experience fecal incontinence (though that percentage increases to 25% for women who have given birth and who are over 40). Yet as few as 25% of women with urinary incontinence and fewer than 30% of women with fecal incontinence seek treatment. For urinary incontinence specifically, women wait an average of 6.5 years from their first time experiencing symptoms to receiving a diagnosis.

Avestria Ventures invested in Axena Health because this pelvic health-focused startup addresses the challenges of doing Kegels correctly, enhancing these exercises to make them effective. Its Leva® vaginal wand detects and measures pelvic muscle movement and helps guide the user through lifting, holding, and relaxing her pelvic floor muscles. Leva® provides real-time digital feedback, tracks progress, offers as-needed clinical support, and is clinically proven with studies showing durable results that are superior to usual care. As a result, with Leva®, women who are reminded of Kegels — whether from their doctor or from an ad on the railroad — will know that they’re not only doing Kegels but also are performing them effectively and correctly.

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At Avestria Ventures, we look for early-stage women’s health and female-led life science companies with products or technologies that improve healthcare quality and/or access, lower costs, induce clinical or behavioral change, are evidence based, have scalable commercialization plans, and have a sustainable competitive advantage. Know one? Contact us via our blog, website, LinkedIn, or Twitter.