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RYSE Asset Management invests in Curio Digital Therapeutics to support the development of new therapeutics for underserved women’s mental health conditions
- Investment round in the women’s health space also includes investment from pharma and specialist investors
- Financing to support continued commercialization with health plans and insurers in the US, UK and India
- MamaLift PlusTM is the first prescription digital therapeutic for the treatment of postpartum depression
LONDON, Aug. 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — RYSE Asset Management, the healthcare investor supporting innovative early-stage companies transforming lives, announced it has participated in a double digit investment round for Curio Digital Therapeutics Inc., (Curio), an innovative US company treating postpartum depression (PPD) and other underserved women’s mental health conditions. Strategic investor ONCE, the nutraceuticals venture capital arm of Otsuka; Bridge Point Capital and Avestria also participated in the round.
New Jersey based Curio has received FDA approval for its lead product MamaLift Plus. MamaLift Plus is the women’s health first prescription digital therapeutic to receive SaMD Class2 approval. It treats postpartum depression, a complex mental health disorder affecting as many as one in seven women with a recent live birth experience.i The FDA approved MamaLift Plus is a prescription–only digital therapeutic for patients aged 22 years and older in conjunction with clinician–managed outpatient care. It is intended to be administered over eight weeks for the treatment of mild to moderate PPD. MamaLift is underpinned by a Connected Care platform which assesses women’s risk of depression and integrates her treatment with her existing healthcare providers. This is particularly significant for providers who are required to report on levels of depression amongst their female populations.
Curio is currently working with health plans, insurers and corporate employee benefit plans in the US and India. They also work at a strategic level with pharma companies and others who seek to engage with Curio’s data and underlying connected care platform which spans post-natal depression, fertility and menopause.
The RYSE investment comes from its Special Opportunities Fund that focuses on the most promising early-stage investments globally between seed and series A. Dedicated to transforming lives through cutting edge digital solutions, the fund has an investment focus on digital diagnostics, digital therapeutics and medical devices that will help solve the challenges facing the NHS and other health and care delivery systems globally. The fund recently welcomed new investors including Future Care Capital, as a cornerstone investor, and established global endowments, family offices and sophisticated investors.
Vivien de Tusch-Lec, General Partner at RYSE said: “This financing is a significant milestone for RYSE Asset Management. As a clinically validated, fully scalable, revenue generating solution, Curio is taking a holistic approach to tackling women’s health by designing interventions that address behavioural management and physiological conditions across Women’s Life Cycle. We see a significant opportunity for Mama Lift Plus, and for the other products in the Company’s pipeline.”
Shailja Dixit, MD, MPH, MS, CEO & Founder of Curio Digital Therapeutics said: “Our goal has always been to provide innovative solutions for women’s health, specifically around the challenges they face with behavioral health. MamaLift Plus is the first and only digital solution that can help address the serious unmet need uniquely faced by women who have recently delivered, and help make a conscious shift in women’s health. We are grateful to have the backing of RYSE, and our committed new investors as we bring these products to new markets.”
ABOUT RYSE ASSET MANAGEMENT
RYSE Asset Management is a venture firm backing innovators in healthcare. RYSE was born out of a unique relationship with the NHS to identify, support and invest in leading early-stage digital healthcare companies to help them scale globally. Based in London, the firm brings together a team of professionals from all over the world with strong scientific, medical and business expertise. RYSE has evolved to collaborate with health systems and partners globally – with private and public providers, pharmaceutical, insurance, medical device companies – to drive revenue and exit.
Through the team’s strategic partnerships with all sides of the healthcare ecosystem RYSE’s Special Opportunities Fund provides early-stage entrepreneurs with the resources and support needed to scale their ventures and make a meaningful impact in healthcare.
For more information, please visit https://www.ryseam.com/en/ and follow us on LinkedIn.
ABOUT CURIO DIGITAL THERAPEUTICS, INC.
Curio Digital is a pioneer in developing digital therapeutics solutions and interventions across the behavioral health continuum for women throughout the cycle of life. Curio aims to create a world where every woman can access a behavioral health solution at her fingertips. Curio is reshaping maternal mental health care by leveraging proprietary algorithms, clinically validated screening tools, and personalized digital behavioral interventions to facilitate timely identification and care. Curio aspires to make women’s health products and solutions across their life cycle. MamaLift Plus is a prescription-only digital therapeutic intended to provide neurobehavioral interventions to patients 22 years of age and older, as an adjunct to clinician-managed outpatient care. Curio’s AI-driven predictive algorithm, Curio-I, identifies and risk stratifies women who would go on to develop common behavioral health conditions. For more information, visit Curio at www.curiodigitaltx.com.
ABOUT POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION
Postpartum depression is estimated to affect approximately one in seven women who have given birth in the U.S. or approximately 500,000 women annually.i ii Postpartum depression (PPD) is one of the most common medical complications during and after pregnancy.iii Clinical guidelines for treatment of postpartum depression recommend medication and cognitive behavioral therapy. However, many women may not be able to access these medications and treatments due to national shortages in mental health providers, insurance coverage, childcare challenges, transportation issues, or breastfeeding status. Hence, there is an unmet need for novel treatment modalities.
i March of Dimes. https://www.marchofdimes.org/find-support/topics/postpartum/postpartum-depression#:~:text=PPD%20is%20the%20most%20common,women%20(about%2015%20percent).
ii Bauman BL, et al. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 2020;69(19):575-581.X
iii “ACOG Committee Opinion No. 757: Screening for Perinatal Depression.” Obstetrics and gynecology vol. 132, 5 (2018): e208-e212. Doi:10.1907/AOG.0000000000002927.
