Mirvie, a company that specializes in predicting unexpected pregnancy complications, has secured a $4.6 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The funding will support Mirvie’s efforts to predict and prevent pregnancy complications by understanding the underlying biology of each pregnancy on a global scale.
The company aims to use its RNA platform, which can be accessed through a simple blood test, to study preeclampsia among pregnant women in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) in Cameroon, Ghana, and Zambia.
Preeclampsia is a serious pregnancy complication that disproportionately affects mothers and infants in developing countries and is a leading cause of maternal death in this population. Mirvie’s RNA platform has shown promising results in detecting 75% of those who will develop preeclampsia, making it a valuable tool in improving maternal health outcomes.
The research funded by the grant will be conducted in collaboration with leading maternal-fetal health researchers, Drs. Alan Tita and Methodius Tuuli. The study aims to create meaningful progress and interventions to curb maternal mortality by promoting diversity and inclusion in maternal health research at a global scale.
Mirvie’s commitment to inclusive, evidence-based pregnancy health research is further demonstrated through its Mirvie Research Collaborative, which is enrolling at least 10,000 pregnant individuals from highly diverse populations in the United States to create a comprehensive biobank of pregnancy transcriptomes.
The company’s work in the field of pregnancy health research holds the potential to contribute to the global good and unleash personalized medicine for maternal health.
