Axena Health, a medical device company dedicated to advancing female pelvic health, has successfully raised an additional $9.4 million in its Series A fundraising round. This latest tranche of funding saw participation from Cross-Border Impact Ventures (CBIV) alongside existing investors such as AXA IM Alts through its Global Healthcare Private Equity Strategy, KOFA Healthcare, and Avestria Ventures. As part of the investment, Donna Parr, managing director and partner at CBIV, joins Axena Health’s board of directors. This strategic move is expected to bolster the company’s growth and development initiatives.
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The newly secured funds will be instrumental in driving Axena Health’s continued commercial rollout of its Leva Pelvic Health System in the United States. The Leva Pelvic Health System offers a non-invasive method for women to strengthen their pelvic floor muscles at home in just five minutes a day. The system combines an FDA-cleared vaginal motion sensor with integrated software to provide precise visualization of pelvic movement in real-time. It also enables progress tracking and active physician involvement, enhancing women’s chances of success in treating UI and FI. The system is available by prescription only, ensuring that treatment is supervised by skilled healthcare providers. This supervision is crucial as level-one evidence indicates pelvic floor muscle training is most effective under professional guidance. Clinical trials and studies have validated the system’s efficacy. The company now also plans to accelerate its efforts to provide scalable treatments in low- and middle-income countries.
“Over the past year since Axena Health’s founding, we’ve seen remarkable U.S. prescriber adoption and growth in payer coverage, leading to improved patient access. The demand for improved first-line treatment options for urinary incontinence and chronic fecal incontinence is clear, and we’re thrilled to partner with CBIV and our existing investors to reach more women across the U.S.,” stated Jim O’Connor, CFO and interim CEO of Axena Health. “CBIV’s focus on impacting women’s health globally also aligns perfectly with Axena Health’s ongoing work in Sub-Saharan Africa to improve access to evidence-based treatments.”
Highlighting the importance of accessible and effective treatments for pelvic floor disorders, Donna Parr added, “Pelvic floor disorders are typically progressive conditions and affect women globally. Too often, women are left with the option of either suffering in silence or pursuing long-term medications or surgical solutions. In our view, neither of those treatments is really accessible at scale – particularly not in low-resource settings. The Leva Pelvic Health System provides the opportunity to improve access and health outcomes, so we couldn’t be more excited to partner on Axena Health’s growth.”
Dr. Zina Affas Besse, Deputy Head of Healthcare Private Equity at AXA IM Alts, echoed these sentiments, saying, “AXA IM Alts is thrilled to have been Axena Health’s founding investor in 2023. We’re excited to partner with Donna and CBIV as the company works to improve treatment options for more women in the U.S. and globally, in line with our objectives of generating outcomes that benefit people and the planet, while meeting our clients’ financial objectives.”
