FemTec Health continues to build its ecosystem by buying fertility wearable Ava

This follows FemTec's acquisitions of Birchbox, Mira Beauty, and Liquid Grids

FemTec Health is a company on a mission to create a series of products and services for women, no matter their life stage or age, and to revolutionize women's health care to provide  a single destination that is personalized to them.

To achieve that, the company's strategy so far has to go on an acquisition spree, buying services to build up that ecosystem: that include monthly beauty box Birchbox and Mira Beauty, a company that uses AI to match consumers with personalized cosmetics, in November 2021, and Liquid Grids, a social marketing platform, in October.

On Tuesday, the company announced its latest acquisition, buying Ava, a fertility tracking wearable. No financial terms of the deal were disclosed. 

Founded in 2014, the Zurich, Switzerland-based Ava is a fertility tracking wearable that detects the fertile window in a woman's cycle in real time. It does this by recording physiological factors that correspond with the rise in hormones indicating the onset of ovulation, including temperature, resting pulse rate, heart rate variability, sleep, breathing rate, movement, perfusion, bioimpedance, and heat loss.

Users just wear Ava to bed and overnight the Ava sensor bracelet collects continuous data while they sleep. In the morning, the user syncs their bracelet to the app to instantly see their results and Ava Fertility then pinpoints their five best days to try for a baby as they're taking place.

Ava's fertility tracking solution is FDA-cleared, is now sold in 36 countries, and has helped over 70,000 women become pregnant.

While fertility is the wearable's main function, the technology has other potential applications as well, including family planning, sleep and fitness, and prescription medications; last year, the company launched a test to see whether a wearable device could detect a COVID-19 infection in real-time, so that it could alert people to get tested or self-isolate prior to showing symptoms. 

"Ava's vision has always been to be a companion to women along every stage of their lives. With Ava's female health AI integrated into FemTec's care platform, women will finally have access to a fully continuous health journey," Lea von Bidder, Ava's co-founder and CEO, said in a statement. 

Launched in October of last year, FemTec Health uses science and technology to transform the healthcare experience for every woman, catering to her needs at her specific life stage.

In February, the company unveiled its direct-to-consumer product, called Awesome Woman, which consists of products including probiotic supplements, diagnostic tests, telemedicine, and prescriptions.

The full-service subscription cost for Awesome Woman is $99 per month, though there is also an entry level $5 option available for subscribers who want to access content and buy products and services on an individual basis. For full-service subscribers, each receives a vaginal microbiome test in her first box, the results of will form the basis of how the company understands her individual health needs. 

After that, the subscriber receives a monthly box with a variety of at-home diagnostic tests, including pH, UTI, hormones, and pregnancy, which are meant to provide health information to customize products, including personalized probiotics, vitamins and supplements, which are matched to her body’s needs and her chosen focus area. At launch, those focus areas include vaginal and urinary health, wellness and prevention, reproductive health, hormone balance, beauty, and sexual wellness. In addition, Awesome Woman subscribers also get access to unlimited telehealth visits and prescription delivery.

FemTec Health has also developed B2B product in the vein of Livongo, which Dr. Kimon Angelides, FemTec Health's founder and CEO, also founded.

Once Ava if fully integrated into FemTec Health, the company says that existing Ava users and Awesome Woman subscribers will have access to both offerings going forward.

"From fertility to contraception, pregnancy support, menopause management, and personalized health insights, Ava's technology is a great addition to make it even easier for women within the FemTec Health platform to take control of their health, all while keeping their data and personal health information one hundred percent private and secure," Angelides said in a statement.

(Image source: avawomen.com)