A biochemistry entrepreneur with a spinal injury is harvesting stem cells from menstrual blood to make regenerative medicine cheaper and more accessible. Menstrual blood contains the most abundant source of mesenchymal stem cells but remains largely untapped. The company plans to cut collection costs tenfold and reduce therapeutic cell doses from $100,000 to $1,000.
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We are supplying the most abundant source of stem cells that's going to enable regenerative medicine to advance much faster than it currently is. When I learned that there are stem cells in menstrual blood, and then when I kept going deeper and deeper into the science of it, I was like, why is nobody doing this? All the pieces are here, they just need to be put in the right order. There were a few variables. One is that I have this spine injury that isn't treatable by anything except stem cells, so I have to manage my pain every day, carry around this seat so I can sit places. The doctors are always like, oh, you're way too young for this to happen. Stem cell therapy can increase the survival rate of burn victims by 20%. The largest population of victims of war are burn victims. I had a partner who was a burn survivor, and so I really got to see the big impact When I started this company and I started researching, this was around the start of the Ukrainian war. And I have a friend who's a stem cell scientist in Ukraine doing work specifically for burn victims. She was the one who was like, hmm, maybe they're in menstrual blood. Yeah, I wouldn't have known that I'd be doing this 4 years ago. My background is in biochemistry, and I worked in biotech the past 4 or 5 years in the Bay Area. I worked for Google for one of their startups. on the Google campus. It was a circular economy company. I ran the chemical analytics for their pilot facility. Being sick, facing my own mortality, kind of makes things easier in a way, or like clearer. Like I said, you have a limited amount of time and energy to do something on Earth, and why not take some risks and try to do something impactful? And so I was poised to start a PhD. I needed to go through a different route because academia is too slow right now. It's like, Perfect timing, and we have all the machines and pieces and expertise to make it happen. It's just about somebody putting them in the right order so that it's easy for other people.
So how does it feel being here, like, in Prospero working on this?
Oh, it feels great. They're gonna build me a lab. Awesome.
Yeah.
So we are in the Verandas area of Prospera. It's been incredible for my company. I've made a lot of progress focusing collectively with all the other entrepreneurs that are here. The ecosystem of having everyone else really focused really helps. The walk from Pristine Bay to Duna, it's through the jungle. I really love to do that walk because the trees are beautiful. I found a few different fruit trees that I There are fruits that I'd never tried before. The sea life and the reef here is incredible, first thing in the morning. Personally, I do better in warm environments. We've got the cold plunge and the sauna and the gym and everything, the ocean. It's pretty great.
I think it is a pretty simple concept, and it's just not obvious because of the way that our society has been and the way science has progressed.
So I'm here today to tell you that menstrual blood can save all your lives. My company is going to be the company that does that. So we are a stem cell supplier and biobank. Most people don't know this, but menstrual blood is the most abundant source of stem cells than any other source that exists currently. We are going to allow our donors to collect their stem cells in the privacy of their own homes, non-invasively, for 10x lower cost. We would be supplying other companies so that they could advance regenerative medicine. I have a permanent spine injury. But the only cure is stem cell therapy, and the obstacle for me has been that I can't afford it. I decided to put together this team to solve this problem with me, and together we hold expertise in stem cell science and engineering, and we're coming from companies like Google and Roche and institutions like Stanford. And we've partnered with Infinita so that we can build out our first labs and utilize the special economic zone to go to market faster. We've also demonstrated that we can collect the stem cells from menstrual blood. We've differentiated them into different tissue types, and we've bio-3D-printed organs that can be implanted into the body. Cardiovascular disease, heart tissue damage. To get enough cells to treat one person, it costs $100,000 currently. With our technology, we're going to bring down that cost to $1,000 for that amount of cells.
Why—
Why is nobody doing this?
Why has this taken so long?
Yeah, well, academia takes way too long. The person who discovered the stem cells in menstrual blood Just started the first menstrual blood collection bank, and that was 20 years. And nobody's collecting stem cells for supplying for regenerative medicine.
And does it only work in women?
No, you can take stem cells from menstrual blood as well.
Where are you going to get your first revenue from?
From partnerships. We're aiming to be business to business. However, we have seen a massive demand from every woman that I've spoken to to bank their menstrual blood for future use. So we're also doing a B2C biobank cryopreservation.
Who do you sell it to again?
Other companies, clinics, biotechnology companies, research institutes.
How hard is this for someone else to do?
No one's done it yet. And I think we have all the pieces here, but people are a little squeamish. Menstrual blood and breast milk are the 2 least studied bodily fluids, and we're gonna change the game. We're gonna change the story.
How much of the hesitation you think has to do with taboo versus regulatory and legal barriers?
Well, we do see a pretty rapidly It's a rapidly changing regulatory field right now. The FDA just approved menstrual blood as a diagnostics tool.
There are other startups who are going after menstrual blood.
Only for diagnostics.
And it's only for diagnostics. You're saying, I'm gonna be the leader in stem cells.
Yes.
Hey, would men's sperm be something you could go after?
I get this question.
But I'm not hearing an answer.
Well, there's not nearly as many.
Man?
Well, you don't regenerate your organ every month.
Oh, good point. Good point. Thank you so much.
Thank you.
This was great.
Are you going to do anything tonight to celebrate?
Maybe.
Probably.
Definitely.
Definitely. This community— yeah, this community has really supported me in so many ways.
Okay, judges, what'd you think?
Prospera has been this place where I feel like the entrepreneurs have this yes and mentality, and she fundamentally represents that. She's like, I'm gonna give away tampons and I'm gonna pay 'em. I'm very excited for her to solve this problem for the world. I'm amped.
Nicholas, what'd you think?
My mind just goes to how can we do this faster?
Yeah. I love that.
Urgency, agency.
Eric, what'd you think?
I love how it presents an opportunity Not only to generate profit solving meaningful problems, but also changing the narrative. Every month you have the opportunity to give life. I think it's a beautiful opportunity beyond just the business angle to it.
Yeah. This could actually change the cultural feel of a 13-year-old girl. All of a sudden, hey, I got something cool now. I can save Grandpa. All right. With that, With Grandpa, it's all about the eyebrows, everybody.
