Modern Fertility Raises $6M

Modern Fertility, the women's health company that makes fertility information more accessible, today announced the launch of its simple-to-use hormone test that can be taken through a finger-prick at home or as a traditional blood draw in a nearby lab. The company launched its test for preorder in August 2017 and is now announcing availability to ship. The test will make insightful information about women's fertility health more affordable, and puts the power of fertility knowledge in the hands of women whenever they want it.

The company also announced $6 million in funding from Maveron and Union Square Ventures, with participation by Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary's Sound Ventures, SV Angel, #Angels, and additional angel investors. Resources will be used to expand the San Francisco-based team, as well as to continue running studies to advance innovations in fertility science. Previously, Modern Fertility secured $1 million in funding from investors including First Round Capital, Box Group, and Y Combinator, bringing the company's total funding to $7 million.

Modern Fertility's medical board includes the brightest minds in fertility and laboratory testing including Advisory Board Chair Dr. Nataki Douglas and Medical Director Dr. Robert Luo. The company has also run an IRB approved clinical study that demonstrates the Modern Fertility test done at home or the traditional blood draw can be used interchangeably to measure reproductive hormones in healthy women.

Modern Fertility is on the front lines of the women's health evolution, developing processes that enable women to get personalized information about their fertility health earlier in life. The test offers the same laboratory tests used in top fertility clinics, but at a fraction of the cost. With the option to track the hormones that impact fertility, ovulation, and risk of menopause earlier in life, women can make their own, more informed decisions about their reproductive futures. By looking at hormones such as Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) and Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) + Estradiol (E2)-women can learn about:

-Ovarian reserve
-How their hormone levels can affect egg freezing or IVF
-Whether they may experience menopause earlier or later in life
-Red flags that can impact their fertility window

Co-founders Afton Vechery and Carly Leahy started Modern Fertility with the mission to help women own their fertility and their futures. Most women don't learn about their fertility health until they experience difficulty conceiving. Vechery and Leahy bring both healthcare and technology experience to their roles as founders, having worked at 23andMe, Google, and Uber. Modern Fertility is built upon an ethos of transparency, accessibility and education, and it's this purpose-driven foundation that they hope will spark a much-needed conversation about women's access to their own health information in the fertility industry.

"It wasn't until I personally experienced difficulty in information access, confusion around results, and shock at the costs of going to a fertility clinic, that I began speaking to other women just like me and realized that we were all in the dark, or worse, given conflicting crucial details about our own health. There's a generation of us out there that are focused on our careers and our lives, but that doesn't mean we don't also want to have children and families," says Co-Founder and CEO, Afton Vechery. "At Modern Fertility, we see ourselves as an education platform that's changing the conversation around fertility from reactive to proactive. We see a world where, in the future, getting your fertility checked is as routine as getting a pap smear."

Today, one in six couples struggle with fertility issues, but aren't aware of what those challenges are until after the problem is diagnosed. Modern Fertility tests the same fertility hormones measured in fertility clinics through a finger-prick test that can be taken at home or as a traditional blood draw in a lab. Modern Fertility builds a personalized, physician reviewed fertility profile that women have access to 24/7, arming them with information to make informed decisions whenever they decide to have children. This includes information that maps to ovarian reserve, ovulation, and general body systems that relate to fertility.

"There's a vibrant acknowledgement happening in society today that makes it possible for women to pursue any option, from career success to starting a family. And because more and more options are available to us, we have the power to do both at the same time," says Rebecca Kaden of Union Square Ventures. "Afton and Carly are on a mission to not only close the information gap, but to speed it up so women can learn about their own bodies on their own terms. In short, they are giving women more control over their futures, and that's an incredible feat they are uniquely capable of achieving because of their experience and the support of their unbelievable team."

"With Afton and Carly, we met two entrepreneurs passionate about building a service that creates peace of mind, confidence, and community in this category currently so marked by fear and confusion," added David Wu of Maveron, "There has never been a better or more relevant time to build a consumer brand centered around empowering women to make more informed decisions about their health."

The Modern Fertility test is $199 and includes free shipping. Tests are available online at www.modernfertility.com.

ABOUT MODERN FERTILITY

Modern Fertility is a women's health company that empowers all women to make informed decisions about their health, starting with fertility. Modern Fertility takes the same lab tests previously confined to fertility clinics and makes them more accessible by allowing women to take the tests at home or in a nearby lab for a fraction of the cost. By educating women and arming them with powerful information about their reproductive health, the company is closing the fertility information gap and enabling women to have more data for decision-making. Co-founded by Afton Vechery and Carly Leahy, Modern Fertility has raised a total of $7 million to advance fertility science so women can learn more about their bodies on their own terms.