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It is astounding and unacceptable that over 80% of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable, and it should galvanize us all to action. The best cure is prevention, and we should all do everything possible to stop these diseases before they take hold. At Mirvie, we aim to help patients and doctors by providing tools to predict preeclampsia and other pregnancy complications months before they arise.

If OB/GYNs have the technology to determine who is at risk for complications like preeclampsia and preterm birth, they can work with patients and their midwives to create a more tailored pregnancy care plan. Personalized care plans usually lead to better health outcomes for mothers and their newborns, Dr. Cowan pointed out.

In addition to giving patients and their healthcare providers more time to prepare for and begin treating a potentially early birth, according to Michal Elovitz, M.D., chief medical advisor at Mirvie, since the study results shed new light on the underlying biology of preterm birth, the findings could also be used to help develop even more targeted treatments for the condition.

Following compelling clinical results, pregnancy health startup Mirvie is poised to develop noninvasive, RNA-based blood tests that can predict pregnancy complications ahead of their symptoms.

A new blood test performed in the second trimester could help identify pregnancies at risk of early and very early spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB), based on a prospective cohort trial. The cell-free RNA (cfRNA) profiling tool could guide patient and provider decision-making, while the underlying research illuminates biological pathways that may facilitate novel interventions.

"Prenatal care as we know it in the U.S. was first developed to primarily diagnose pre-eclampsia, yet these protocols have not changed in over 50 years," said Eleni Tsigas, CEO of the Preeclampsia Foundation. "Mothers and babies deserve more – there is an urgent need for innovation that not only identifies the risk of developing pre-eclampsia early, but also helps bring pregnancy health into the 21st century."

The South San Francisco company is developing a platform to test and analyze RNA samples from pregnant people in order to detect markers from an array of complications that can occur during pregnancy. Mirvie's goal is to catch potential health conditions in the second trimester, much earlier than they are currently diagnosed which typically happens in the third trimester only after many symptoms appear.

Mirvie Co-founder & CEO Maneesh Jain shares: “At Mirvie, we find it unacceptable that pregnancy health has not advanced meaningfully in decades. We believe the Mirvie RNA platform can shape a new future of predictive, preventive, and personalized pregnancy care for the well-being of millions of expecting parents and babies. We are thrilled to welcome several top-tier investors who recognize this staggering unmet need and have backed us to make a difference.”

Preeclampsia is a potentially serious problem that usually surfaces late in pregnancy, posing an immediate risk of preterm birth, stillbirth, and death as well a later danger of stroke for the mother. New research published Wednesday in Nature shows how RNA molecules sequenced from a single blood sample could predict preeclampsia months before symptoms appear, holding promise for detecting and treating this and other pregnancy complications before they cause harm.

“We see very unique RNA profiles that are associated with the development of preterm birth months ahead of time. If we’re actually able to say, I not only can identify who is at risk, I can identify the biology that makes you at risk, it just opens up this whole new world for pregnancy health and for moms.”