NextGen Jane Awarded Second NIH Grant For The Evaluation of a Non-Invasive Endometriosis Diagnostic

, /PRNewswire/ -- NextGen Jane, a women's health company that is developing menstrual diagnostics for gynecological care, announced that it has received a SBIR Direct to Phase II grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD), part of National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Endometriosis is one of the most debilitating and underdiagnosed conditions affecting women's health today. On average, it takes nearly ten years from symptom onset to receive a diagnosis; this delay has serious implications for fertility. The current standard of surgical confirmation of disease contributes to the endometriosis diagnostic odysessy. NextGen Jane is tackling this problem with a non-invasive alternative: using tampon-collected samples to capture and decode the molecular signals shed from the uterine lining.

This new $2.2 million grant ($759,944 in the first year) will be used to support the final clinical validation of the non-invasive menstrual test for endometriosis in infertility patients.

"We are delighted to receive this continued financial support and validation from NICHD, which will accelerate our mission to bring precision diagnostics to people with gynecologic conditions that are often overlooked," said Ridhi Tariyal, Co-Founder and CEO of NextGen Jane. "Endometriosis diagnosis and treatment in the context of infertility can be especially frustrating, as long delays, expensive appointments, and few alternatives for care can lead to patient distress, disease sequelae and increased time to conceive. The at-home collection system will help patients understand whether they have a chronic, inflammatory condition as they navigate the complex terrain of fertility treatment."

This marks the second NIH award for the company to further their research on endometriosis ($1.8M in 2020 through the Fast Track mechanism). The new award is a significant milestone for the company as it continues to expand its platform for capturing and decoding uterine health through the menstrual cycle. The work also sets the stage for broader applications of menstrual effluence analysis in areas like fertility, infection, and gynecologic cancer detection.

NextGen Jane's endometriosis assay, which includes both human and microbial biomarkers, presents a first-of-its kind tool that will provide insight into uterine transcriptional activity of the host and the microbiome of patients with endometriosis and infertility.

Disclaimer: Research reported in this publication was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute Of Child Health & Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R44HD118899. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

About NextGen Jane:

NextGen Jane is a genomic startup pairing next generation sequencing with cells shed naturally from the female reproductive tract to reformat diagnostics and therapeutics. By developing analytics based on molecular signals found in menstrual effluence, NextGen Jane is reframing how women engage with their health. A simple and elegant tampon collection kit enables serial sample collection, longitudinal data generation and efficient scaling across disease areas. For more information, visit www.nextgenjane.com.

SOURCE NextGen Jane