SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mirvie, a pioneer in predicting unexpected pregnancy complications, today announced a $4.6 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support the company’s efforts to predict unexpected pregnancy complications before they happen by revealing the underlying biology of each pregnancy for women on a global scale. Specifically, the funding will help launch study sites in Cameroon, Ghana, and Zambia to understand preeclampsia among pregnant women in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) using the Mirvie RNA platform via a simple blood test from the mom.
“We’re thrilled to have the support of the foundation as Mirvie works to predict and prevent pregnancy complications, allowing providers and patients to intervene before they become a crisis,” said Maneesh Jain, Co-Founder and CEO of Mirvie. “We’re excited to work with leading maternal-fetal health researchers, Drs. Alan Tita and Methodius Tuuli, to bring pregnancy health to the 21st century.”
“The last year has brought meaningful forward progress for Mirvie, including receiving FDA Breakthrough Device Designation, one of only four recipients ever in the obstetrics space. We're looking forward to building on the company's strong momentum with this latest milestone," added Jain.
Preeclampsia disproportionately impacts mothers and infants in developing countries, affecting 10 million women globally, and is a leading cause of maternal death in this population. Meaningful innovation is urgently needed to reverse unacceptable trends in maternal health. Mirvie is working to fill this need: a study published in Nature found Mirvie’s RNA platform detects 75% of those who will develop preeclampsia.
“Diversity and inclusion in maternal health research, especially at a global scale, is critical if we want to create meaningful progress and interventions to curb maternal mortality,” said Dr. Alan Tita, Mary Heersink Endowed Chair of Global Health, Director of the Mary Heersink Institute of Global Health and the Marnix. E Heersink School of Medicine Associate Dean for Global Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and co-lead researcher for the study. “We look forward to working with Mirvie on this research to potentially fill an unmet need and create healthier futures for women and their babies.”
“I hope that this research will underscore how state-of-the-art innovation in pregnancy health can contribute to the global good and unleash personalized medicine for maternal health in a way we have yet to see,” said Dr. Methodius Tuuli, Chace-Joukowsky Professor and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Women & Infants Hospital and co-lead researcher for the study.
The research funded with this grant builds upon Mirvie’s commitment to inclusive, evidence-based pregnancy health research through the Mirvie Research Collaborative. The Mirvie Research Collaborative is currently enrolling at least 10,000 pregnant individuals from highly diverse populations across the United States to create the largest and richest biobank of pregnancy transcriptomes ever.
About The Mirvie RNA Platform
The proprietary Mirvie RNA platform combines revolutionary analysis of tens of thousands of RNA messages from the baby, the placenta and the mom, with machine learning. The platform opens a new window into pregnancy health for expecting parents to act and their doctors to intervene before unexpected complications become a crisis. It enables proactive, personalized and preventive pregnancy care for the well-being of expecting parents and babies. Mirvie is conducting ongoing clinical research to validate existing peer-reviewed evidence, to enhance the Mirvie RNA platform performance, and to improve the understanding of other pregnancy complications.
About Mirvie
Mirvie is shaping the future of pregnancy health by providing women, expecting parents and their doctors with an early detection window to intervene before unexpected pregnancy complications become a crisis. One in five pregnancies is impacted by complications that lead to lifelong health consequences for expecting parents and babies. The proprietary Mirvie RNA platform uses a simple blood test to reveal vital information about a pregnancy’s unique biology and detect complications months before they occur. The idea for Mirvie was sparked by the personal experience of one of the founders whose daughter was born prematurely. Mirvie’s team of world-class scientists and entrepreneurs have brought to market category-first, non-invasive tests in both women’s health and in early cancer detection, used by millions today. Founded in 2018, Mirvie has raised more than $90 million in early-stage financing from top-tier investors, including Decheng Capital, Foresite Capital, General Catalyst, GV, Khosla Ventures, and Mayfield. Mirvie is based in South San Francisco, California. To learn more about Mirvie, please visit www.mirvie.com.
