How IP helps a startup to remain at the forefront of innovations in medical technology

Health gains for women: YON E Global's eHealth tool

“How am I doing?” is probably the most important question women rarely ask themselves. Which is strange, given that the question is critical and our body knows the answer. But how do you find out what your body has to say? FemTech company YON E Global is developing an eHealth tool that shows just that. This invention will give women quick and easy insights into their health as well as their well-being.

Traditional femcare companies often focus on one specific part of women’s health, from period cycle to fertility to sexual health. “We have a holistic view of women’s welfare”, says Chief Strategy Officer Ricquelle Jeffrey of YON E Global. “Our latest product will be a device that gives women insight into their vaginal health within 3 seconds. Our invention measures and combines various data and gives women a better picture of the overall health of their vagina through key indicators.”

Financing and investors

“Like many female-led startups, YON E Global continues to face funding issues. Currently, only 2.2% of pre-seed funding goes to female led startups. That's how I first came into contact with the company,” explains Jeroen Derks. Jeroen is PIM Noord-Holland project coordinator (PIM stands for Programma Investeringsgereed Innovatief MKB, which translates as Investment-worthy Innovative SMEs Programme). PIM helps SMEs in the province of Noord-Holland who are facing growth and financing issues. “During the introductory meeting, we discussed the business owners’ growth plans and financing needs. As PIM NH, we weren’t in a position to actively support YON E Global with their funding issue. However, we were able to help the company out by providing tips on potential partners and investors. And when it turned out that YON E Global also had questions about intellectual property, we put the business owners in touch with patent consultant Katja Apelt of the Netherlands Patent Office (Octrooicentrum Nederland).”

Steps toward patent

YON E Global was in the process of protecting their IP (intellectual property), but the people running the company realised that they still knew too little about the subject, says Katja. “The company was keen to patent their new eHealth device. They had also taken the necessary steps toward that goal: they had spoken to a patent attorney and had received a patent research report from UMC Utrecht. But they weren’t entirely certain about how a patent is structured and which aspects of the technology could be protected.”

At the forefront of innovations

Ricquelle explains why patent know-how was and is so important for the company: “Patents are a way for us to protect our intellectual property, and they also allow us to remain at the forefront of innovations in medical technology. Our business is based on the concept of ‘giving back’. And we mean that quite literally. YON E Global Founder and CEO Roswitha Verwer encountered both mental and physical abuse during her childhood, which resulted in her residing in safe houses. This is where she first learned there was lack of education and awareness surrounding vaginal health. That was the driver behind the establishment of YON E Global. The profits of the venture after our device is launched will go into establishing women shelters and building new health care facilities.”

Search opinion by the Netherlands Patent Office

Katja drafted a patent search opinion for YON E Global. This revealed that the sensors in their eHealth device measuring pH and temperature are in widespread use, especially in the field of reproductive biology. A setback? Not at all. “They found the search opinion extremely useful and forwarded the report to their patent attorney,” says Katja. The European patent application for the company's invention is currently pending, for four parts of the invention: the type of data shared, the device toolkit, the operation of the device, and the shape.

Invaluable free help

“The free help given by PIM NH and the Netherlands Patent Office has been invaluable to us. It has helped us to be able to make important strategic decisions,” Ricquelle says resolutely. “Like any startup, we have high startup costs. It costs a fortune to get your business up and running. When we have investment meetings now, we can say that we have researched the different protection options. And we can block competitors and copycats. We are ready to change healthcare for women around the world.”