Latest news with #ManeeshJain
Forbes
14 hours ago
- Health
- Forbes
How Two Fathers Turned Personal Crisis Into Preeclampsia Innovation
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.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Introducing Encompass™: A Breakthrough Solution from Mirvie to Advance Care for Pregnancy Complications
Starting with preeclampsia, new solution aims to transform the pregnancy experience from reactive to personalized, proactive and preventive by predicting risk for complications months before symptoms appear SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., May 14, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mirvie, a leader in uncovering the biology and utilizing data-driven approaches to improve the care of women's health conditions, today announced the launch of its first breakthrough product for preeclampsia, one of the most common and serious pregnancy complications. Encompass™ combines a novel blood test to predict personalized preeclampsia risk with a preventive action plan and a responsive virtual assistant to offer pregnant women individualized support and help them work with their care team towards the healthiest pregnancy possible. Preeclampsia, impacting 1 in 12 pregnancies with rates continuing to grow, is one of the most challenging pregnancy complications, but also one with a comprehensive, evidence-based care plan to reduce the risk of developing the condition or delaying onset late enough in pregnancy to avoid preterm birth. Until now, no simple and effective clinical tools have existed to predict the risk of who will develop the condition. As a result, prenatal care has relied on a 'wait and see' approach that looks for symptoms and then reacts once the condition develops. This lack of specificity results in poor consumer attitudes and clinical resource constraints – explaining why adherence of preventive interventions such as daily aspirin is less than 10%. "For too long, we've relied on an outdated prenatal care model which has not kept up with the precision medicine approach common in other medical specialties," said Maneesh Jain, CEO and Co-Founder of Mirvie. "Over the past decade, Mirvie has combined technological innovation with rigorous clinical evidence to deliver biological-data-driven approaches that usher in the era of predictive and preventive prenatal care. We're thrilled that we can now help families with our work." Mirvie's Encompass test for preeclampsia analyzes cell-free RNA measurements to evaluate placental health and the biology of the developing pregnancy to predict which pregnancies are at risk for preeclampsia. Studied in landmark research and powered by the Mirvie RNA platform™, which examined the molecular health of nearly 11,000 pregnancies across the U.S., the test predicted 9 of 10 pregnancies that later developed preterm preeclampsia as "high risk." Those with a "low-risk" result have a 99.7% probability of not developing preterm preeclampsia. "Patients should know their preeclampsia risk before it becomes a crisis," said Dr. Thomas McElrath, Vice President of Clinical Development at Mirvie and a practicing maternal-fetal medicine physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital. "The prenatal care model - designed nearly 100 years ago to manage preeclampsia - has remained largely unchanged. Encompass is a paradigm shift based on an increased understanding of the underlying biology of pregnancy. With Encompass, pregnant women with a high-risk result can have conversations with their care teams about interventions to mitigate risk, including additional monitoring, aspirin adherence, monitoring blood pressure at home, and more. Encompass allows optimal, personalized care for the right patients." Mirvie is launching Encompass across the U.S.* with an easy, direct-to-consumer online purchase process, telehealth clinician review, mobile phlebotomy, and results delivered within 10-14 days. Initially, Encompass is available to purchase for expecting moms ages 35 and older at delivery without pre-existing high-risk conditions for preeclampsia. The company is also working with third parties, including physician offices, maternal health benefits providers, and payers to add new access channels. "With this launch, we are moving urgently to respond to the dire maternal health crisis and also embracing very positive structural changes happening in healthcare," said Aimee Corso, Senior Vice President of Growth at Mirvie. "Consumer demand and willingness to pay for innovation are at an intersection with constrained OB/GYN resources and the clinical movement to personalize maternity care. Our easy, patient-centric, ecommerce experience helps expectant moms meet their needs while also reducing burdens on their providers, enabling the most productive office visits possible." A few things to know about Encompass: Accessible: Purchasing the test is simple — pregnant individuals age 35 or older (at time of delivery) can purchase from and a licensed telehealth provider will review and approve the test order. Simple and convenient: A simple blood sample is collected through an at-home visit between 18-22 weeks of gestational age, without needing a trip to the lab. Actionable: Results are returned within 10-14 days to the mom and her provider care team, paired with a preventive action plan and responsive virtual assistant, to help reduce the risk of developing preterm preeclampsia. As part of the product launch and with May marking Preeclampsia Awareness Month, Mirvie is also announcing the launch of the #MotherofAllQuestions campaign to shed light on how expecting moms can prepare themselves with the right solutions, data, and questions to have authentic conversations with their providers about their pregnancy journey and understand their risk for dangerous complications like preeclampsia. Visit Mirvie and Encompass social channels to take part in the campaign and learn how to tackle the tough conversations in pregnancy because knowledge is crucial for having the healthiest pregnancy possible. Visit to determine if you're eligible to purchase the test today. About the Mirvie RNA Platform The Mirvie RNA platform combines advanced transcriptomic analysis with machine learning and AI analysis to uncover the biology of developing pregnancies. The platform powered the company's foundational, first-of-its-kind study uncovering defining molecular signatures of pregnancy complications. This comprehensive study examined the biology of nearly 11,000 representative pregnancies across the United States, analyzing 22,000 cell-free RNA transcripts per patient, translating into 200 million data points overall, making it the largest study of its kind. Mining the rich dataset enables Mirvie to focus on the development of predictive risk blood tests across multiple pregnancy complications including preeclampsia, preterm birth, and fetal growth restriction. This personalized, predictive, and preventive approach to pregnancy care using cell-free RNA analysis can support pregnant women and their care teams to have the data needed to put an informed, personalized care plan in place months before a complication becomes a life-altering health crisis. About Mirvie Mirvie is bringing scientifically rigorous and data-driven approaches to solving some of the most pressing clinical problems in women's health, beginning with pregnancy. Serious complications impact one in five pregnancies in the U.S., and Mirvie is committed to creating a world where every pregnancy is as safe and healthy as possible. Founded and led by a team of seasoned entrepreneurs and scientists, the company is based in South San Francisco, California and backed by top-tier investors including Blackrock, Decheng Capital, Foresite Capital, General Catalyst, GV, Khosla Ventures, and Mayfield. For more information, visit *=Available in service areas across the United States, except New York View source version on Contacts Kate Enoskate@ Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Wire
14-05-2025
- Health
- Business Wire
Introducing Encompass ™: A Breakthrough Solution from Mirvie to Advance Care for Pregnancy Complications
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Mirvie, a leader in uncovering the biology and utilizing data-driven approaches to improve the care of women's health conditions, today announced the launch of its first breakthrough product for preeclampsia, one of the most common and serious pregnancy complications. Encompass ™ combines a novel blood test to predict personalized preeclampsia risk with a preventive action plan and a responsive virtual assistant to offer pregnant women individualized support and help them work with their care team towards the healthiest pregnancy possible. Over the past decade, Mirvie has combined technological innovation with rigorous clinical evidence to deliver biological-data-driven approaches that usher in the era of predictive and preventive prenatal care. Share Preeclampsia, impacting 1 in 12 pregnancies with rates continuing to grow, is one of the most challenging pregnancy complications, but also one with a comprehensive, evidence-based care plan to reduce the risk of developing the condition or delaying onset late enough in pregnancy to avoid preterm birth. Until now, no simple and effective clinical tools have existed to predict the risk of who will develop the condition. As a result, prenatal care has relied on a 'wait and see' approach that looks for symptoms and then reacts once the condition develops. This lack of specificity results in poor consumer attitudes and clinical resource constraints – explaining why adherence of preventive interventions such as daily aspirin is less than 10%. 'For too long, we've relied on an outdated prenatal care model which has not kept up with the precision medicine approach common in other medical specialties,' said Maneesh Jain, CEO and Co-Founder of Mirvie. 'Over the past decade, Mirvie has combined technological innovation with rigorous clinical evidence to deliver biological-data-driven approaches that usher in the era of predictive and preventive prenatal care. We're thrilled that we can now help families with our work.' Mirvie's Encompass test for preeclampsia analyzes cell-free RNA measurements to evaluate placental health and the biology of the developing pregnancy to predict which pregnancies are at risk for preeclampsia. Studied in landmark research and powered by the Mirvie RNA platform™, which examined the molecular health of nearly 11,000 pregnancies across the U.S., the test predicted 9 of 10 pregnancies that later developed preterm preeclampsia as 'high risk.' Those with a 'low-risk' result have a 99.7% probability of not developing preterm preeclampsia. 'Patients should know their preeclampsia risk before it becomes a crisis,' said Dr. Thomas McElrath, Vice President of Clinical Development at Mirvie and a practicing maternal-fetal medicine physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital. 'The prenatal care model - designed nearly 100 years ago to manage preeclampsia - has remained largely unchanged. Encompass is a paradigm shift based on an increased understanding of the underlying biology of pregnancy. With Encompass, pregnant women with a high-risk result can have conversations with their care teams about interventions to mitigate risk, including additional monitoring, aspirin adherence, monitoring blood pressure at home, and more. Encompass allows optimal, personalized care for the right patients.' Mirvie is launching Encompass across the U.S.* with an easy, direct-to-consumer online purchase process, telehealth clinician review, mobile phlebotomy, and results delivered within 10-14 days. Initially, Encompass is available to purchase for expecting moms ages 35 and older at delivery without pre-existing high-risk conditions for preeclampsia. The company is also working with third parties, including physician offices, maternal health benefits providers, and payers to add new access channels. 'With this launch, we are moving urgently to respond to the dire maternal health crisis and also embracing very positive structural changes happening in healthcare,' said Aimee Corso, Senior Vice President of Growth at Mirvie. 'Consumer demand and willingness to pay for innovation are at an intersection with constrained OB/GYN resources and the clinical movement to personalize maternity care. Our easy, patient-centric, ecommerce experience helps expectant moms meet their needs while also reducing burdens on their providers, enabling the most productive office visits possible.' A few things to know about Encompass: Accessible: Purchasing the test is simple — pregnant individuals age 35 or older (at time of delivery) can purchase from and a licensed telehealth provider will review and approve the test order. Simple and convenient: A simple blood sample is collected through an at-home visit between 18-22 weeks of gestational age, without needing a trip to the lab. Actionable: Results are returned within 10-14 days to the mom and her provider care team, paired with a preventive action plan and responsive virtual assistant, to help reduce the risk of developing preterm preeclampsia. As part of the product launch and with May marking Preeclampsia Awareness Month, Mirvie is also announcing the launch of the #MotherofAllQuestions campaign to shed light on how expecting moms can prepare themselves with the right solutions, data, and questions to have authentic conversations with their providers about their pregnancy journey and understand their risk for dangerous complications like preeclampsia. Visit Mirvie and Encompass social channels to take part in the campaign and learn how to tackle the tough conversations in pregnancy because knowledge is crucial for having the healthiest pregnancy possible. Visit to determine if you're eligible to purchase the test today. About the Mirvie RNA Platform The Mirvie RNA platform combines advanced transcriptomic analysis with machine learning and AI analysis to uncover the biology of developing pregnancies. The platform powered the company's foundational, first-of-its-kind study uncovering defining molecular signatures of pregnancy complications. This comprehensive study examined the biology of nearly 11,000 representative pregnancies across the United States, analyzing 22,000 cell-free RNA transcripts per patient, translating into 200 million data points overall, making it the largest study of its kind. Mining the rich dataset enables Mirvie to focus on the development of predictive risk blood tests across multiple pregnancy complications including preeclampsia, preterm birth, and fetal growth restriction. This personalized, predictive, and preventive approach to pregnancy care using cell-free RNA analysis can support pregnant women and their care teams to have the data needed to put an informed, personalized care plan in place months before a complication becomes a life-altering health crisis. About Mirvie Mirvie is bringing scientifically rigorous and data-driven approaches to solving some of the most pressing clinical problems in women's health, beginning with pregnancy. Serious complications impact one in five pregnancies in the U.S., and Mirvie is committed to creating a world where every pregnancy is as safe and healthy as possible. Founded and led by a team of seasoned entrepreneurs and scientists, the company is based in South San Francisco, California and backed by top-tier investors including Blackrock, Decheng Capital, Foresite Capital, General Catalyst, GV, Khosla Ventures, and Mayfield. For more information, visit *=Available in service areas across the United States, except New York
