There is a wide range of medical conditions that patients simply don’t feel comfortable talking about – neither to their family or friends, nor to their doctor. Founded in 2018, Prognoix is a company that sees the need to provide a safe environment – next to a great tech solution, of course – to tackle a group of such stigmatized disorders: sexual dysfunctions. 

The startup’s mission is to bridge the gap between the healthcare system and its patients, and create an inclusive and open environment that allows diagnosis and treatment of these conditions in the comfort of people’s homes. Prognoix’s first product is an innovative tool that diagnoses the cause and severity of impotence (erectile dysfunction or ED) in order to prescribe the right care required for alleviating it.

Creating the solution that patients need

Founder Abhinav Jain knows that being proactive and addressing health concerns in time is crucial for staying in good health in the long run. Yet, to achieve that, patients need to feel comfortable to address those concerns in the first place. 

What’s more, certain sexual dysfunctions, such as ED, may even indicate early onset of diabetes or cardiovascular diseases. At the moment, there are no simple and objective tools available to diagnose ED, and because of that, the precious window of opportunity to reverse the problem is often lost. This serves as a motivator for the Prognoix team to utilize their medical device development and clinical expertise to create solutions that help both the patients and the clinicians serving them.

“I love the journey of designing a product,” Abhinav says. “It’s always unique, customer-centric, and meant to serve a purpose.” His passion and the relationship of trust he shares with his business partner – Timo Tscharnkte, have allowed the two men to develop innovative products by adopting an ambitious, yet pragmatic approach.

Prognoix takes into account that ED can be caused by various reasons – physiological and quite often, psychological too. To develop a solution that fits the needs of the specific target audience, “we have gathered feedback from more than 250 patients and medical professionals. Sadly, we have also learned that more than half of all ED patients experience depression or anxiety because of the condition,” Abhinav says.

It is essential to clearly identify the cause of the problem first before starting a treatment. The solution that Prognoix has developed will be initially used as a prescription tool under the strict supervision of clinicians. The startup is currently working with a Dutch academic hospital to conduct clinical studies to ensure their product matches customers’ and regulatory expectations. 

The long-term ambition is to have this solution available as an over-the-counter product, thus reaching out also to the patients who are uncomfortable to even talk about this topic with their doctor. 

Finding just the right product-market fit

For a long time, the startup has been bootstrapped by the founders and has also secured funding and commercialization support from JUMPstart, a MedTech-focused accelerator in Singapore.  

The team also received a boost when Dr. Christoph Pies, a renowned German urologist who has been regularly seeing ED patients for the past 24 years and authored three books on men’s health, made an investment in Prognoix and joined as their medical officer. This is especially important as it validates the market needs and enables the startup to develop a product based on them.

Prognoix is looking to raise up to €800,000 over the course of the next year. 

Starting with Europe as its beachhead market, Prognoix aims to expand to its main target market in the US. While the company started and is currently registered in Singapore, Asia does not seem to be their key focus at the moment, Abhinav says. “Unfortunately, sexual dysfunction is still seen as a wellness problem in several Asian countries with little to no push from their healthcare systems.”

Prognoix has also taken part in YES!Delft’s Accelerator program, which has helped them secure several partnerships with product developers and manufacturers, as well as clinical studies. In the short time that they have been around, they have checked off quite a few milestones – and have many more lined up.