NIH Awards Liv Labs $1.67M Research & Development Grant

These R&D funds are part of the federal government's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, also known as "America's Seed Fund." The SBIR program supports a diverse portfolio of startups and small businesses across technology areas and markets to stimulate technological innovation, meet Federal research and development (R&D) needs, and increase commercialization to transition R&D into impact. They foster and encourage participation in innovation and entrepreneurship by all people, including women, people of color, people with disabilities, and entrepreneurs located in all 50 states and U.S. territories.

Liv Labs applied for, and was awarded, a Direct Phase II grant of over 1.67 million dollars in recognition of the need to make meaningful change in how continence care is delivered at scale - nationally and globally. The award addresses the fact that nearly 27 million American women have a current, unmet need for conservative, non-surgical treatment for stress urinary incontinence (SUI); and that number will rise to 35 million by 2060 as the population ages. The proposed research will evaluate the safety, efficacy and usability of a novel, soft spring continence pessary that provides the utility of a reusable, fitted pessary with unprecedented ease of use, physical comfort, and psychological security. The goal is to build widespread adoption of a patient-controlled treatment that improves quality of life and reduces other chronic illness risks while simultaneously reducing demand for expensive clinical care.