Eagan-based medical device startup Pelvital this week said it has raised an additional $2.32 million in seed funding to help treat stress urinary incontinence (SUI) in women.
Pelvital raised its first round of seed funding totaling $2.68 million in August as part of an investment led by Indianapolis-based venture capital firm Boomerang Ventures. That company used those funds to help finish development on Flyte, the company’s flagship product designed to fight SUI symptoms.
With the second round secured, the company has raised $5 million to date. In a news release issued Monday, Pelvital leaders described the second round as a “seed-plus” round — essentially, a follow-on investment. The funds will now be used to expedite Flyte’s commercialization, something Boomerang Ventures founder Oscar Moralez said will help tackle one of health care’s most pressing challenges.
“Our participation aims to address the chronic underfunding in women’s health care,” Moralez said in the release. “Investing in Flyte, a truly groundbreaking treatment, addresses underserved pelvic health issues like SUI and contributes to raising vital awareness.”
Flyte is designed to strengthen weak pelvic floor muscles using “mechanotherapy” — a six-week process that involves the device delivering a series of gentle vibrations while a patient contracts, which promotes healing responses from pelvic floor muscles to restore strength and bladder control. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Flyte in 2020.
Urinary incontinence affects half of adult women and only goes up with age, with roughly 75% or women over 65 reporting urine leakage, according to Mayo Clinic research.
Despite SUI’s prevalence, Pelvital president Lydia Zeller said, like many other aspects of women’s health care, stigmatization and a lack of accessible treatment options has deterred many women from seeking care.
“Women have been essentially led to believe that this is a part of being a mom or part of growing older. They think this is just a part of life,” Zeller said. “It’s extremely common, but it isn’t normal, and it doesn’t have to be a part of life.”
The company’s leaders say the device is effective. In a study, 71% of participants who used Flyte between two weeks and three months achieved dry or near dry conditions. According to Zeller, especially with more women experiencing SUI symptoms at younger ages, a lack of treatment can lead to a myriad of other problems, such as depression and urinary tract infections.
Zeller added the new round of funding will partially go toward a next-generation Flyte model that will include optional app interfaces for improved communication between patients and clinicians.
Moving forward, Zeller said increased accessibility for patients means educating care providers on new treatment technologies. Instead of simply managing SUI symptoms with surgery or pads, Pelvital’s device is designed to provide a longer-term solution.
“The onus really needs to be on the physician to ask the questions and then treat it, not on the woman to advocate for herself,” Zeller said. “Bottom line, just like we’ve done with mental health, this needs to be brought out into the open so that people are comfortable.”
