About
RH Capital
RH Capital, a Rhia Ventures fund, invests in early-stage high-impact companies that are driving innovation, access, and equity across the reproductive and maternal health landscape while delivering strong financial returns to investors. As impact investors, our unique mission of seeking both financial and social returns attracts inspiring and talented entrepreneurs who share a common vision—to improve the health of all women in the US. Underlying all of our work is a continued commitment to gender and racial equity.
Portfolio
Investments
Bloomlife is working to improve maternal health outcomes using the power of machine learning. The company is developing the first at-home, AI-enabled pregnancy wearable, empowering women with more information about their pregnancies to seek care when they need it.
A women’s health start-up dedicated to making oral contraceptives, with a long history of safety and efficacy, available to women without the need for a prescription or pharmacist. Cadence Health is here to #liberatethepill.
Harnessing the natural barrier properties of cervical mucus, Cirqle Biomedical is developing Oui, a hormone-free, on demand, women-controlled contraceptive that is designed to delight women and men.
Increasing geographic access to healthcare through digital telehealth and online pharmacy services, Nurx currently provides contraception, HIV prevention treatment (PrEP), STI testing, migraine medications and plans to expand its platform to address all sensitive medication needs of its customers.
OCON Healthcare’s Ballerine® is the first-ever 3D spherical copper intrauterine contraceptive with a superior safety profile. Using its proprietary intrauterine drug delivery platform, OCON is also developing SEADTM, a point-of-care treatment for abnormal uterine bleeding.
Contraline uses novel polymer hydrogel and precision delivery technology to provide a non-surgical and naturally reversible contraception option, potentially for men and women.
Raydiant Oximetry is working to improve maternal and fetal outcomes by developing a new, non-invasive fetal monitor that can more accurately diagnose fetal distress during childbirth.
YourChoice Therapeutics has identified a lead compound that successfully blocks a target that disables the sperm function, allowing for hormone-free and reversible contraception without side effects for women and men.
Cayaba Care provides comprehensive and holistic maternity services to underserved communities, helping to address health inequities in the US for BIPOC and low-income populations.
Planera is developing the first certified flushable and 100% biodegradable menstrual pad, addressing environmental concerns regarding microplastics, adhesives, and other chemicals which contribute to over three million tons of waste per year.
AOA is developing cancer diagnostics in women’s health, starting with early-stage ovarian cancer.
Mae is working to address the maternal health needs of Black birthing people through a value-based supplemental care platform for pregnant women at higher risk due to systems-wide failures, such as racial bias and discrimination.
Testmate Health leverages DNA detection technology, marketed by Swiss DeCode for agriculture applications, to develop a urine-based, at-home STI diagnostic test for four common pathogens (gonorrhea, chlamydia, trichomoniasis, and mycoplasma genitalium).
Ovia Health’s digital solutions are transforming the way women and families are supported throughout the parenthood journey by delivering real-time personalized and data-driven guidance for fertility, pregnancy, and parenting.
Unifying
Investment Themes
Our
Priorities
Maternal Health
Reducing maternal mortality and morbidity
We invest in innovations that can improve clinical outcomes across 6 million pregnancies each year in the US, particularly those that can benefit BIPOC who suffer disproportionately higher rates of maternal mortality and morbidity. Areas of focus include preterm birth, preeclampsia, postpartum hemorrhage, C-sections, postpartum depression, access to care, and other unmet needs in maternal health.
Contraception
Decreasing unintended pregnancies
We invest in novel science, technology, and approaches to contraception for the 100+ million women of reproductive age across North America and Europe. We’re committed to bringing the next generation of hormone-free products to market to meet the needs of women throughout their reproductive journey. In the meantime, we’re looking for innovations to increase access and reduce costs for women to obtain contraceptive products available today.
High-Impact Reproductive Health
Improving clinical outcomes for all women
We see many other opportunities for investment in high impact areas with significant unmet needs, including sexually transmitted infections (STIs), endometriosis, uterine fibroids, PCOS, female reproductive cancers, infertility, pelvic health, menopause, and a range of other women’s reproductive health areas.
RH Capital Funds Team
RH Capital brings together a strong team of experts, with deep experience in venture capital, impact investing and healthcare—all committed to pioneering a new future for women’s health.
Managing Director
Elizabeth Bailey has over 15 years of experience in venture capital and supporting early-stage technology companies. She was a Partner at one of the first impact investment funds (Commons Capital LP), where she managed healthcare and education portfolios, which included: Claros Diagnostics (acquired by OPKO), CodeRyte (acquired by 3M), Combinent Biomedical Systems, HistoRx (acquired by Genoptix), Medical Metrx Solutions (acquired by AIG), TelaDoc Medical Services (IPO: TDOC), Valeo Medical, and Apex Learning (acquired by Education Growth Partners). Most recently, Elizabeth served as the Founding Director of the Consortium for Affordable Medical Technologies (CAMTech) at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she built a global program to accelerate medtech innovation and catalyze new health startups. Throughout her career, Elizabeth has been a passionate advocate of the power of business – from startups to multinationals – to drive social change. Elizabeth earned a Master in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and a BA from Brown University.
Managing Director
Before joining, Stasia served in 2018 as the first Fellow of the Tara Health Foundation. She has more than twenty-five years of experience providing financial and strategic planning consulting to organizations in the U.S. and Asia. She has joined management teams as the interim Chief Financial Officer on a short term and extended-term basis to provide finance, accounting, and strategic planning expertise to startups, fast-growing companies, and non-profit organizations. Current and past clients include 18Birdies, Posit Science, Circlepoint, West Shore Technologies and We Care Solar. She has lived for over 8 years in Bangkok, Thailand, and Hong Kong, China. She began her consulting career as a management consultant with Bain & Company. Previously, she worked in investment banking for Morgan Stanley & Co. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in finance from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business. In addition to her consulting work, she has extensive experience as a member of several nonprofit boards where she has held a number of leadership positions.
Principal
Alice has been a women’s health enthusiast throughout her career spanning global health, clinical medicine, and the private sector. Alice was previously a women’s health practice leader and management consultant at McKinsey & Company, where she served biopharma, diagnostics, global public health, and private equity clients across R&D and commercial strategy topics.
Earlier in her career, Alice’s passion to improve lives for the underserved led her to work in East Africa and Asia in reproductive health and family planning with EngenderHealth, Marie Stopes International, and other nonprofits. As a clinician, she focused on women’s health globally and published articles examining healthcare in low-income countries.
Alice holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and MD and MPH from the University of Michigan, where she was a Dean’s Merit Scholar. Alice is a frequent speaker on FemTech and women’s health innovation and is a steering committee member for multiple women’s health innovation forums.
Technical Advisor
Analyst
Investment Advisory Committee
The Investment Advisory Committee (IAC) meets monthly to inform RH Capital’s investment strategy, due diligence efforts, investment decisions, and portfolio management
Women’s Health Innovation Council
Recognizing the importance of clinical expertise to better understand the needs of women, we created a Women’s Health Innovation Council (WHIC) with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In addition to reproductive health clinicians, the WHIC consists of regulatory advisors, manufacturing experts, design professionals, and others who provide key insights and feedback on companies we consider for investment. Some representative members of the WHIC include:
IAC Member
IAC Member
IAC member
IAC Member
IAC Member
Assistant Professor in Obstetrics, Gynecology and
Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School
and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)
Adeline Boatinis currently an Assistant Professor in Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH),where she directs the OB/GYN Global Health program. She is also an affiliate faculty at the Program for Global Surgery and Social Change at Harvard Medical School and associate of the MGH Center for GlobalHealth. In addition to obstetric and gynecologic care and resident training at MGH she is an NIH funded clinical researcher with a focus on reducing global reproductive health disparities. Dr. Boatinreceived her undergraduate education at Harvard University and her medical degree at the Columbia’s College of Physicians and Surgeons. She received an MPH with a focus on international health at the Harvard SchoolofPublic Health and then completed a four-year residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Harvard Integrated Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Program, where she also served as chief resident. She completed a two-year Global Health Research Scholarship at the Massachusetts General Hospital where she focused on innovative methods to improve obstetric care delivery and decision-making around cesarean delivery in resource-limited settings.
Core Faculty, Contra Costa Residency
Dr. Sarah McNeil serves as Core Faculty at the Contra Costa Family Medicine Residency in Martinez, Medical Director of the TEACH Program in Downtown Oakland, and provider at Southwestern Women’s Surgical Center in Dallas, TX. Dr. McNeil aims to improve access to comprehensive healthcare by providing and helping other primary care providers to integrate abortion services into their own practices. To this effect, she trains residents at Planned Parenthood and contributes to the online TEACH curriculum. Dr. McNeil did her undergraduate studies at Hamilton College, attended Dartmouth Medical School, and then completed her Family Medicine residency at Contra Costa Regional Medical Center in Martinez, CA, where she served as Chief Resident. Following residency, she completed the Leadership Training Academy with Physicians for Reproductive Health and UCSF’s Faculty Development Fellowship.
Associate Professor, UCSF Department of Obstetrics,
Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, and Director
of the Joint Perinatal Health Equity Project
Malini Nijagal is an obstetrician who provides care both at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and UCSF. Prior to joining UCSF, she worked in the County of Marin for 8 years, where she led a system- wide redesign of maternity care services for publicly-insured women, and founded and directed the OBGYN program at Marin Community Clinics. From 2014-2016, she completed a Health Management degree at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health, focusing on high-value maternity care. In 2017 she was brought to UCSF to launch the Joint Perinatal Health Equity Project, a venture aimed at tackling SF’s perinatal disparities through re-designing the current care and service delivery model for publicly-insured women in San Francisco. With a strong interest in both high-value care and payment reform, Malini also serves as the maternity care consultant for Carrum Health, a start-up that designs Alternative Payment Models for self-insured employers and has written several articles around these topics.
Research Director, Women’s Health Research Institute, Kaiser Permanente Northern California
Dr. Raine-Bennett is a senior research scientist at the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research and a senior staff physician in the Oakland Medical Center. She received her medical training at the University of California, San Diego and residency training and MPH at the University of Washington in Seattle, where she also completed a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Fellowship. She is a Board Certified Obstetrician-Gynecologist with special interest in contraception and reproductive health. Dr. Raine-Bennett focuses on expanding research on women’s health and translating women’s health research into clinical practice within the Obstetrics and Gynecology departments in Northern California. In addition to research on contraception, she conducts research on cervical cancer screening and hysterectomy trends. Dr. Raine-Bennett has been a Principal Investigator on NIH Grants to assess hormonal contraceptive use in high-risk women and develop interventions to improve contraceptive use. Her past research on emergency contraception focused on the safety of making emergency contraception more accessible and available to teens without a prescription. Dr. Raine-Bennett is also currently a volunteer clinical faculty member at the University of California San Francisco where she was formerly a Professor and the Medical Director of the New Generation Health Center, a UCSF affiliate site that seeks to help teens and young women avoid unintended pregnancy. She is the author of numerous scientific papers in major peer review journals. She served on the editorial board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and is currently a reviewer for the journal. She has served as an examiner for the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology as well as national committees for the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the National Medical Board of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. She is currently on the Board of Directors and the Treasurer of the Society of Family Planning and Society of Family Planning Research Fund.
