Elektra Health Board of Directors | From left to right: Craig Bell (UPMC), Kathryn Heffernan (UPMC), Dr. Nora Lansen (Elektra Chief Medical Officer, non-board member), Jannine Versi (Elektra Co-Founder), Dr. Monica Jain (Wavemaker 360), Alessandra Henderson (Elektra Co-Founder), Katelin Cruise (Seven Seven Six), Vic Lanio (Flare Capital Partners)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, February 21, 2024 – Elektra Health, a digital health platform that empowers women navigating the menopause journey via evidence-based education, medical care, and community, announced $3.3M in new financing led by UPMC Enterprises, the innovation, commercialization, and venture capital arm of UPMC, with participation from Wavemaker 360, and existing investors Flare Capital Partners and Seven Seven Six Fund. This brings the total amount of equity finance raised to $7.6M. Kathryn Heffernan from UPMC Enterprises and Dr. Monica Jain from Wavemaker 360 have joined Elektra’s Board of Directors.
Elektra Health is dedicated to improving women’s health outcomes in menopause, and the decades that follow. Today, 50 million women are currently navigating menopause in the U.S. However, around 20% of OB/GYN residency programs offer menopause training, resulting in a care gap.¹ Recent research underscores the connection between menopause and the risk and prevalence of chronic conditions such as heart disease, hypertension, and osteoporosis, among others. Elektra’s Actuarial Study (2023) revealed that women diagnosed with menopause incur significantly increased healthcare spend (45%), and often suffer poorer outcomes.
Elektra’s proprietary, evidence-based menopause care model combines telemedicine care with dedicated 1:1 ongoing support from women’s health experts (“menopause doulas”), 100+ hours of evidence-based education, and private community support from peers. A clinical study conducted in partnership with the University of Rochester in 2023 revealed that 92% of respondents reported improvements in their knowledge, awareness, and access to trusted menopause experts after utilizing the Elektra platform.²
Elektra is bringing women’s post-reproductive healthcare into the 21st century in partnership with world-renowned physicians, payers, and healthcare systems, including Mass General Brigham Health Plan and EmblemHealth. Elektra’s goal is to empower health plans and organizations to invest in population health via inclusive support for women’s health and wellbeing across the lifespan – according to Elektra’s data, 87% of women report a more favorable opinion of their health plan for offering Elektra.
“Elektra Health’s three core pillars – education, care, and community – lay the foundation for women to not only understand menopause, but to also take actionable steps to optimize their long-term health and wellness,” says Alessandra Henderson, Co-Founder. “We’re thrilled to have UPMC joining as lead investor for this round. They are exemplary in their dedication to holistic care for women across the lifespan, including menopause and the intersecting health needs of an aging population that has been wildly underserved to date,” adds Co-Founder, Jannine Versi.
“UPMC is interested in investing in solutions that focus on empowering women and Elektra proved to have all the elements UPMC values in this space: evidence-based education and care that prioritizes women’s health needs and drives outcomes,” said Heffernan, Senior Director of Strategic Product Management at UPMC Enterprises. “The goal of the Elektra platform is to fill a gap and provide innovative opportunities to strengthen the doctor-patient relationship as women move through the menopause transition.”
This new round of funding will be used to expand its evidence-based care delivery platform across payers, self-insured employers, and new markets. For more information, visit elektrahealth.com.
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About Elektra Health
Elektra empowers the 50+ million women currently navigating menopause with a holistic, evidence-based care model. Elektra’s unique platform combines personalized support from experts, MD-vetted education, and virtual care from board-certified clinicians. With strong engagement and clinical outcomes, Elektra cares for women in menopause and the decade that follow. Backed by leading investors such as UPMC, Wavemaker 360, Flare Capital Partners, and Alexis Ohanian’s 776 fund, Elektra works with leading top employers and health plans across the U.S. including Mass General Brigham Health Plan and EmblemHealth to reimagine women’s health, starting with menopause.
Contact
Kathy Osborne
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- Christianson M, et al. Menopause education: needs assessment of American obstetrics and gynecology residents. Menopause. 2013;20(11):1120-5. doi:10.1097/GME.0b013e31828ced7f.
- Roy, N., Giannelli, J., Barbieri, A. M., Versi, J., Rattanasirivilai, P., Stratte, L., & Doyle P.J. (2023, September 28). Investigating the effect of exposure to a novel digital menopause-focused education, care, and community platform on mid-life women [Poster presented]. North American Menopause Society Annual Meeting 2023/Philadelphia, PA, USA.
