Amber Edwards remembers well when the idea of starting a company began.
“When I went through perimenopause myself, it was difficult to find a provider,” Edwards told the Business Journal. “I had hot flashes. I couldn’t sleep.”
She found it wasn’t often covered by insurance companies and doctors didn’t have the deep experience in the field.
She knew that there were treatments available for the estimated 50 million American women who are in that period of life. Edwards thus started a company called
EncorVita Health this year.
“We were raised by our mothers that menopause is the beginning of the end,” Edwards said. “That’s why I picked EncorVita, which is Life Again.”
She is currently in a seed round to fund raise about $1 million.
Deep Background
Edwards has two decades of experience in the aesthetics industry, including serving as global CEO at Sinclair Pharma, vice president of international strategic marketing at Allergan, and as global head of Alastin Skincare for Galderma.
She’s seen the aesthetics industry evolve over the years from merely providing shots to offering more wellness and longevity products.
“The ideal place for care is aesthetic clinics because older women are already there,” she said. “I really understand the business model of aesthetic clinics.”
The company promises to equip aesthetic clinics and medical spas with everything they need to expand into perimenopause and women’s health.
EncorVita Health’s website says it educates and equips providers to address perimenopause, sexual health and wellness alongside aesthetic treatments, helping clinics evolve into the trusted partners women deserve.
The company defines perimenopause as a transition period—sometimes up to 10 years—leading up to menopause, signifying the decline of reproductive years.
Women may experience irregular menstrual cycles, hot flashes, sleep difficulties, depressive symptoms, sexual health dysfunction and bone mineral density loss, as well as an increase in cardiometabolic health risk factors.
“It’s the beginning of the decline of the ovaries. Hormones fluctuate in a meaningful way.”
She estimated that there is an average delay of six years to diagnose and treat perimenopause. Her website says there is only 1 certified provider of care for every 32,000 women of perimenopausal age.
“The problem is we don’t have enough clinicians who are trained. Our mission is to make sure to get more women the care that they deserve.”
The website at EncorVita features six products, including a digital university, clinical protocols, live support and board-certified experts.
Three Revenue Streams
Edwards plans to generate revenue in three streams.
First, it will offer licenses to aesthetic clinics.
“The clinics will have access to our entire digital university and get hands on support. We’ll have team of medical professionals,” she said.
Secondly, EncorVita will license industry data. In February, EncorVita announced it acquired provider-facing menopause and sexual health education and clinical assets from Eterna Inc.
The assets include intellectual property originally developed through more than a decade of clinical practice across multi-state women’s health clinics at HerMD. She estimated the 10 years of longitudinal data involved 25,000 patients.
“Our goal is to build the premier women’s health education and resource platform—one that ensures far more women of perimenopausal age receive the informed, evidence-based care and provider support they are actively seeking and deserve,” Edwards said in a statement about the acquisition.
“This platform provides an extraordinary clinical foundation. By scaling them through EncorVita, we can empower clinics with the education, protocols, and support.”
Thirdly, it will be adding treatments in a new emerging area called Feminine tech, or Femtech for short.
“Femtech is a hot area in health care,” she said. “These are wearables like diagnostics for treatments. We will likely become a distributor.
“A lot of exciting innovations are coming. We are a gateway into aesthetics.”
