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There are several instances in consumer health — and particularly in women’s health — where a better experience isn’t just a nice-to-have or a matter of greater convenience and comfort, but a fundamental lever for better healthcare outcomes. A better experience can actually be life-saving.
Teal exemplifies this premise. Launching to the public in the coming months following their upcoming FDA approval, Teal is commercializing the market’s first-ever at-home collection screening for cervical cancer. This initial offering, the Teal Wand, dramatically transforms the experience for one of the most routine, critical screenings in women’s health and in doing so, dramatically improves the very quality of care. At Forerunner, we’re on an endless search for companies helping consumers take health into their own hands by modern measures. Teal embodies this … quite literally.
For cervical cancer screenings to date, the very real shortcomings with the experience have led to very real compromises: today, an estimated 1 in 4 women are behind on their screenings. For anyone who’s had a Pap Smear, this might not be surprising. Between the required visit to the doctor, the cold speculum, and the stirrups, this traditional method that is notoriously disliked — but has been the only option. This is compounded by the fact that we are in a historic provider shortage, with about 50% of counties not having an OBGYN that can offer a Pap Smear. When the comfort, convenience, and accessibility of this critical screening are so severely compromised, it makes sense that already 93% (!) of women are saying they are interested in Teal’s at-home, less invasive alternative.
By solving comfort and convenience at home with a novel, DIY product, Teal is helping solve adherence and thus improve outcomes, aiming to help eliminate cervical cancer for all.
Over time, Teal has ambitious plans to transform other pillars of women's health with better experiences and thus better outcomes. But for now, the company sees cervical cancer screening as a massive wedge–and one that brings all women back every few years by necessity.
The Teal Health opportunity wouldn’t be what it is today without Kara Egan, the CEO/Cofounder. Kara is a force, with years of operating and investing experience. The enormous gap in women’s health felt all too pronounced for her to stay on the sidelines, and she gathered a world-class team to build this.
As the Teal team looks ahead to its FDA approval in the coming months, this new capital will help the company accelerate their commercialization and set them on their journey to helping eradicate cervical cancer for all–and opening up other, new dimensions for what’s possible in women’s health.