How Two Fathers Turned Personal Crisis Into Preeclampsia Innovation

Forbes

2 days ago

Left to right: Mirvie management team: Maneesh Jain, cofounder and CEO, Michal Elovitz, MD and Chief ... More Medical Advisor, Steve Quake, PhD and cofounder
When Maneesh Jain's wife went into what was supposed to be routine labor nearly 20 years ago, he was shocked by how quickly everything unraveled. 'It went from a normal pregnancy to an emergency C-section in a matter of minutes,' he recalled. 'And I was left wondering, how is it that we know so little about something that matters so much?'
For Dr. Steve Quake, a similar moment came when his first daughter was born a month early. 'It really shook me,' he said. 'That's what drew me into maternal and fetal health. At the time, we had an amniocentesis done—and that's what started me down the path to develop non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT).'
Both men, scientists by training and fathers by life experience, were driven by their daughters' births to solve one of medicine's most neglected problems: the inability to predict serious pregnancy complications before they strike.
In 2018, they co-founded Mirvie, a company that uses RNA technology to anticipate and prevent preeclampsia, a condition that affects one in 12 pregnancies and can lead to seizures, organ failure, and even death. Their work has helped shift the model of maternal care from a reactive to a proactive approach.
Despite advancements in maternal care, preeclampsia remains one of the most dangerous pregnancy complications in the U.S. and globally. The global preeclampsia diagnostics market is expected to grow substantially, rising from $2.2 billion in 2024 to $5.8 billion by 2034. The preeclampsia laboratory testing market is valued at $16.3 billion in 2024 and is projected to nearly double to $31.4 billion by 2032.
The current screening tools rely heavily on maternal age, BMI, race, and family history—imprecise proxies that leave both patients and physicians 'flying blind,' said Jain, CEO at Mirvie.
The consequences are not just short-term. Research shows that preeclampsia can result in long-term health complications for both mothers and babies, including increased risks of cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, and developmental challenges in children. preeclampsia-related medical costs in the U.S. alone total an estimated $2.18 billion in the first year after birth—$1.03 billion for maternal care and $1.15 billion for infant care.
'It's nearly impossible to pinpoint who will develop preeclampsia,' said Dr. Dallas Reed, a medical geneticist at Tufts Medicine and a member of Mirvie's clinical advisory board. 'The risk factors are too broad to be meaningful. As a result, care physicians struggle to have focused, proactive conversations about this serious condition, because nearly every pregnant woman qualifies as 'at risk.''
Mirvie's solution is Encompass, a simple blood test that can be taken at home around 18 weeks of gestation, aligned with the fetal anatomy scan, to detect molecular signatures that predict preeclampsia well before symptoms emerge.
In a groundbreaking study involving over 10,000 pregnancies, Encompass was able to identify 91% of women who went on to develop preterm preeclampsia. Those identified as low-risk had a 99.7% likelihood of not developing the condition.
'What's revolutionary here is that the signal comes from RNA, which tells us what's happening in real-time during pregnancy—not what you inherited, but what your body is doing,' said Quake. 'It gives us a biological window into the future.'
Reed added, 'That's why I'm so excited about Mirvie's Encompass test. For the first time, we can offer pregnant people a clear, personalized assessment of their preeclampsia risk—early enough to make a real difference. Encompass empowers us to deliver timely, individualized care to the patients who need it most.'
Recognizing that diagnosis is only the first step, Mirvie took it a step further. The company sponsored the first multi-stakeholder, patient-centered care plan to prevent preeclampsia, published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2023.
Created with input from OB-GYNs, midwives, doulas, nurses, and patients, the care plan outlines practical, evidence-based steps—such as taking low-dose aspirin, monitoring blood pressure, and making key lifestyle adjustments. It's designed to help both patients and providers feel more prepared and confident when managing the risks associated with preeclampsia.
'We heard from OBs that the test alone wasn't enough—they needed to know what to do with the results,' said Jain. 'So we created a comprehensive action plan that brings everyone to the table.'
While Jain and Quake acknowledge the historical imbalance in who gets heard in healthcare conversations, they view their role not as replacing women's voices but amplifying them.
'One of the challenges in women's health is that it's often marginalized—treated as a niche,' said Jain. 'But this isn't just a women's issue. It's a family issue. If a mom has preeclampsia, that affects the baby's lifelong health, too.'
Quake added: 'This is a problem that touched both of our lives. We didn't take it on out of theory. We took it on for the sake of our families.'
They've built Mirvie with that philosophy in mind: The company is majority women, empathy is a core corporate value, and product development involves constant feedback from patients and OB-GYNs. 'We've spoken with thousands of pregnant people and providers,' said Jain. 'Everything we've built reflects what they told us they needed.'
Mirvie has raised over $75 million in venture capital funding. It also received a $4.6 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to study the effectiveness of RNA-based testing in Sub-Saharan Africa, with research sites in Ghana, Cameroon, and Zambia.
'Being impacted by serious complications in both my pregnancies, it was just so clear to me that a company like Mirvie needs to exist,' said Holly Maloney, managing director at General Catalyst. 'We must shift the paradigm from reactive to proactive prenatal care to improve outcomes.'
Still, maternal health remains vastly underfunded. Between 2019 and 2024, investment in women's health grew by 200%, but it still accounts for only about 2% of all healthcare investment. Jain believes that's starting to change.
'We've seen that when you present hard data and real-world impact, investors take notice,' he said. 'But we still need to make the case that this isn't niche—it's fundamental. It's about healthier families and healthier futures.'
This Father's Day, Jain and Quake are proof that parenthood doesn't just change lives—it can help save them. What began as fear in a delivery room has turned into a mission to protect millions of families from the dangers of preeclampsia. With science, empathy, and a deep commitment to change, these two dads are giving maternal health the attention—and innovation—it deserves.