OCON Therapeutics raises $10 million for innovative IUD and women’s health solutions
OCON Therapeutics raises $10 million for innovative IUD and women’s health solutions
The Israeli women’s health company has raised a total of $40 million to expand its health solutions including painless and effective IUDs and treatment for endometriosis and uterine fibroids
Israeli femtech company OCON Therapeutics has completed a $10 million investment round led by RH Capital with participation from Features Capital, Astia Angels, Exerte Partners, grants from the Israeli Innovation Authority and angel investors. Including the most recent investment, the company has raised a total of $40 million to date.
"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 CEO Keren Leshem in the company’s press release. "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 minimize risks associated with surgeries or non-compliance to oral medication."
OCON develops targeted health solutions for women, most notably its patented IUD (intrauterine device), the Ballerine, which has been used by over 150,000 women. A non-hormonal IUD, the Ballerine was based on a radical concept - constructing an IUD whose shape, size and material were specifically tailored to female anatomy: round without any sharp edges, not made of stiff plastic and smaller to better fit the uterine cavity. It’s much safer and the insertion is less painful and invasive than other IUDs.
OCON will use this new funding to expand its treatment solutions to solutions to other uterine health issues in development such as abnormal and heavy uterine bleeding, endometriosis and uterine fibroids. "This latest investment is a testament of our investors' confidence in OCON's technology and strategic direction," added Leshem. "We are grateful to our investors and excited to advance our clinical programs, expand our product offerings, and bring our innovative solutions to more women around the world."
The market for women’s health issues is massive and largely untapped with little competition. For treatment and solutions to endometriosis, which impacts 5% of the population (1 in 10 women), there is a $2 billion market; for heavy/abnormal bleeding, which impacts 15% of the population (1 in 3 women), there's a $6 billion market, and for uterine fibroids which impacts 35% of the population (7 out of 10 women), there's a $5 billion market.
