Neuraura wins MasterPlan Contest for groundbreaking PCOS treatment
The Phase 0 MasterPlan™ Contest (MasterPlan Contest) aims to change the way the health innovation space responds to new technologies. Simbex™ holds the contest annually to award $50,000 of in-kind support. This allows them to invest in up-and-coming innovators during the earliest (and often toughest) phases of their journey.
This Wednesday, Simbex announced its 2024 contest winner – Neuraura. Their flagship solution, the LoOoP, revolves around their proprietary micro-electrodes technology. In the future, this technology could be applied to a variety of unmet clinical needs.
“Neuraura has been on our radar for a while,” Simbex CEO Greg Lange explained. “What they’re doing is really special. I’ve always been impressed by the larger product platform they’re developing.”
The MasterPlan Contest seeks out early-stage companies looking to partner with an experienced firm that aligns with their vision. Neuraura is looking to go to market in the next 18 months, making it the perfect time to collaborate with a partner like Simbex.
The contest garnered 55 applicants vying for the $50,000 final award. At the final interview round, Neuraura co-founders Pierre Wijdenes, PhD, and Claire Dixon, MBA, MEng/MA (Cantab.), impressed the Simbex team with their novel platform: a women’s health bioelectronic wearable and supporting mobile app with a specific focus on one of the most common, profound and overlooked women’s health conditions, PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome).
Meet Neuraura: The product-app solution changing women’s health
Neuraura was co-founded by Wijdenes at Hotchkiss Brain Institute in 2017 as he was wrapping up his PhD program. There, he developed the patented neural electrode hardware at the core of the LoOoP platform. In Q4 2022, alongside co-founder Dixon, the company honed in on women’s health, and is launching the LoOoP as its inaugural product.
Dixon brings a wide breadth of knowledge to the table — she holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and over 25 years of international leadership experience — but the decision was also deeply personal. After navigating her own journey with infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss, Dixon knew it was time to focus on better and more accessible solutions for women’s health.
“I’d been through almost a decade of fertility treatment, and none of my doctors talked to me about PCOS, and so we got really, really passionate about closing information and care gaps for this condition,” Dixon explained.
Fortunately, with the help of Swedish researcher Dr. Elisabet Stener-Victorin, Neuraura was able to explore the use of low frequency electro-stimulation for PCOS.
Women’s health isn’t just the few years of reproduction or peak fertility, Dixon relayed, but the internal biology that affects all areas of health from birth until death. Neuraura is chartering their own path in comprehensive women’s healthcare.
“There’s nobody approaching this from a whole health perspective, in terms of mediating the effects of this condition,” Dixon shared. “We’re in a really exciting space, and so this prize, this in-kind support, will just get us that one step closer to that first FDA-clearance, which is huge.”
Simbex, Neuraura to move forward with partnership
As the MasterPlan Contest winners, the Neuraura team will receive Simbex’s support in building their commercialization strategy, improving their mechanical design framework, and making sure they’re regulatory-ready come launch next year.
“It’s amazing to be able to work with a company that has such a firm handle on the problem it’s ready to solve,” Lange said.
According to Dixon, their work with Simbex couldn’t come at a better time. Their team has made incredible progress in the past 24 months with technical development and commercial validation. Now, they’re ready to advance their prototype and application beyond the alpha prototype stage as they prepare to hit the market.
Simbex offers a wide suite of commercialization and pre-market services. When it became clear that Neuraura needed guidance in the areas of Simbex’s expertise, everyone was ready to move forward.
“There’s something special about being able to partner with a company before they get to market. Navigating the challenges of prototyping, manufacturing, and commercialization is where Simbex really thrives,” shared Lauren Brenneman, Director of Business Development at Simbex. “I’m just really excited we get to do that alongside Neuraura.”
The MasterPlan Contest is Simbex’s avenue for investing in the innovations hitting the medtech market every year. The criteria is simple and the application straightforward: in one sentence, describe your company or product.
“I actually really appreciated how straightforward the application was,” Dixon said. “We fill out a lot of grant applications, and it was good to know Simbex was getting straight to the point. They want a feel for what you’re going for, and if they can help.”
The straightforward application process is just the beginning for Simbex. It’s the start of a collaboration that can last years.
“At Simbex, we value long-term partnerships that encourage us to continue growing and working together. To find another company that shares your values — that you get to help at such a critical time — is really a special experience,” Lange shared.
