The Food and Drug Administration approved the very first home test on Friday for screening for cervical cancer, developed by the San Francisco Startup Teal Teal.
A little more than five years ago, the company started to develop the prototype for its green -blue magic magic. The concept was to make screening of cervical cancer more accessible via TeleHealth and a test that could be administered at home, instead of a doctor.
“The Pandemie showed everyone that TeleHealth is a thing that is preferred … and made it easier to take care of most Americans,” said Kara Egan, CEO of Teal Health, adding that Covid also demonstrated “T-house testing was something that people can handle and really understand.”
Just like a tampon applicator works, with a large cotton swab that the user can introduce himself to collect a sample for testing. The FDA has referred to the tool as a breakthrough device after the clinical research results of the company demonstrated that the precision of the self -administered test was comparable to a screening at the office, performed by a doctor, with an accuracy of 96%.
Teal is planning to first make the magic wand available in California, from June.
The company held discussions with carriers about insurance coverage for the test as a preventive screening, which would be covered without copays for most women, just like an annual visit to the doctor.
The American Cancer Society recommends women to be screened for cervical cancer every three years at the age of 21.
Yet Egan says that one in four women is lagging behind screening, partly because they cannot find time for a personal gynecologist appointment, a problem, especially for women in the countryside who often have to travel outside their community to go to a doctor.
“This is about increasing access to care and ensuring that we have more options to get that care,” she said.
Prior to the expected FDA approval, Teal Health raised $ 10 million in January in his latest financing round to help increase production for the launch of the Teal Wand. The investment was led by Forerunner Ventures and Laurene Powell Jobs' Emerson Collective. The company has raised a total of $ 23 million from investors, including Serena Williams' Serena Ventures, as well as Testbedrijf Labcorp.
The milestone of the company comes as investors have become more interested in the health for women.
Last year there was an inflow of $ 680 million into the room invested in 30 deals, according to Data from Deloitte. About 60% of those funds went to later investments, according to Jen Radin, director of Deloitte's Life Sciences and Health Care Practice.
“From 2023 to 2024, Femtech saw 41% growth, which exceeded general health technology, which only grew 10%,” Radin said.
Femhealth Ventures Managing partner Manesha Ghiya says that investors are now more careful, in general, the interest in women's health technology goes beyond the pregnancy and menopause.
“In a broader sense, many more people think of the health of women and support these kinds of innovations – and that includes the large, established players such as Medtech, Pharma, Biotech, large public companies that think more widely about women's health,” Ghiya said.
