For many women, existing birth control options come with some sort of trade-off. Intrauterine devices (IUDs) can last for years, but many report painful insertions and heavier periods; oral contraceptives are effective when taken consistently, but can sometimes cause nausea, headaches, and mood changes.
With its non-hormonal contraceptive ring, a Nova Scotia healthtech startup is hoping to develop a birth control that avoids most, if not all, of these side effects. Elle MD Technologies, founded in New Minas, NS, has raised $1.1 million CAD to do clinical testing with its vaginal ring, called the Livv.
“I wanted something better for my patients, and better for me.”
Dr. Jennifer Johnston,
Elle MD
Investors in the all-equity pre-seed round include Elizabeth Edwards of H Venture Partners and local physician Dr. Robin Leblanc, as well as organizations Invest Nova Scotia, the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, the Community Business Development Corporation at Hants-Kings, the Queen’s University Tricolour Venture Fund, Spring Invest Together, and Startup TNT.
“Although hormonal contraception works really well and is very commonly prescribed, I did have a lot of patients who either couldn’t tolerate it, didn’t want to use hormones, or had personal medical issues that prevented them from using it, leaving them with very few options,” Dr. Jennifer Johnston, a family physician and founder of Elle MD, said in an interview.
That patient feedback, from her time as a doctor at a university clinic, was part of what inspired Johnston to develop the once-monthly birth control product. As a mother of four whose personal health prevented her from taking hormonal birth control, she was intimately familiar with the need for an alternative that could give her the same control over her reproductive health.
Elle MD.
“I wanted something better for my patients, and better for me,” she said.
Elle’s Livv silicone-and-copper device is similar to a NuvaRing, a flexible ring inserted into the vaginal canal once a month to prevent pregnancy. Instead of releasing the hormones progestin and estrogen, however, the Livv’s copper component interferes with sperm, preventing them from fertilizing the egg.
Another advantage of the Livv, Johnston said, was that it gives patients flexibility over removal—they can take it out anytime, as opposed to an IUD, which must be removed at a clinic.
Though women-led tech startups in Canada have traditionally received far less funding than the norm—in part stemming from underfunding of women’s health research—Elle is part of a crop of up-and-coming femtech startups securing early-stage financing. The startup has now raised $2.5 million, including non-dilutive grants. Johnston said that the recent financing was “shockingly” easier to raise than she expected, once she had sparked initial interest.
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The startup plans to use the funding to do its first in-human clinical trial this fall at The Ottawa Hospital, if it secures the necessary approvals from Health Canada. “Research is the most expensive part,” Johnston said. The first trial will serve to validate safety, and if that goes well, the next ones would aim to prove the device’s efficacy in preventing pregnancy. Elle has already completed tests in sheep, which demonstrated safety and efficacy, the founder said.
The company also recently completed an accelerator program run by women’s health-focused pharmaceutical company Organon, through which Elle can work with the company’s research and development team as it refines Livv.
Johnston said she’s enjoyed the transition from a physician to founder, which has made her feel like she’s back at school.
“I’ve been a patient, I’ve been a provider, I’ve been a mother to three girls,” she said. “I think it all came together to help inform what we’re doing now.”
Feature image courtesy Unsplash. Photo by Vitaly Gariev.