The Digital Healthcare Platform Aims to Close the Care Gap for Women’s Health in Menopause & Beyond via Evidence-Based Care, Education & Community
Elektra Health, a digital health platform that empowers women navigating the menopause journey via evidence-based education, medical care and community, has landed $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. 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.
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.