How to Convince Investors, Payers, and Patients Your Device is Worth the Cost

About 54 million Americans have osteoporosis and low bone mass, which can lead to serious and painful bone fractures. Studies estimate that about one in two women and up to one in four men ages 50 and up who have the condition will break a bone, according to the Bone Health Policy Institute.

Though osteoporosis is a common condition, there are gaps in treatment — some can put patients at risk for further fractures while others have relatively low patient adherence rates.

Laura Yecies understood that need, which is why she became CEO of medtech startup Bone Health Technologies in 2020.

Laura is a Silicon Valley veteran with 30 years of experience leading major companies, including Netscape, Yahoo, SugarSync, and CheckPoint, as well as startups such as SyncThink and Catch.

She’s always had a deep-rooted interest in people’s health and wellness and was looking for her next big project — something she could connect with on a personal level.

That’s when she came across Bone Health Technologies and its OsteoBoost belt, which is intended to prevent osteoporosis. Wrapped around the user’s waist, the belt produces gentle vibrations that mechanically stimulate the bones to improve bone density.

The National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Aging awarded Bone Health Technologies a $2.7 million grant to help fund the company’s late-stage research and development.

Bone Health Technologies also is currently enrolling participants in a one-year study assessing whether OsteoBoost can successfully treat osteopenia in postmenopausal women. They are conducting the trial in partnership with the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System; the University of California, San Francisco; and the Northern California Institute for Research and Education.

In this episode of Medsider, Laura talks about the importance of finding investors who are passionate about your mission, why Bone Health Technologies decided to pursue FDA clearance for its technology, and how the company’s commercial plans through a cash-pay approach.