Curio is a digital therapeutics platform aiming to provide personalized, evidence-based, and FDA-approved care for various women’s health conditions, starting with postpartum depression, which affects about 15% of all mothers. The company’s first product, MamaLift™, focuses on identifying and providing support tools to new and expecting mothers who are at risk for anxiety and depression.
CEO: Shailja Dixit MD
Headquarters: Princeton, NJ
Year Founded: 2021
Year Avestria First Invested: 2021 (Fund I)
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Curio receives FDA approval for MamaLift Plus
Curio’s pivotal trial meets efficacy endpoints
Curio featured in SVB’s “Healthcare Investments and Exits” update
Curio is a 2023 Prix Galien USA nominee
The Top Founders and Leaders Driving Innovation in Women’s Health in 2023
Startek partners with Curio to offer MamaLift program
Curio was chosen as a finalist for the Reproductive Health Innovation Showcase
Curio receives Maternal and Infant Health R&D Seed Grant
Curio was chosen as the VentureFuel 2022 Venture of the Year
Curio is a VentureFuel 2022 Venture of the Year finalist
Contextualizing digital therapeutics for women’s health: a podcast episode with Shailja Dixit
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Curio is one of the 35 most promising femtech startups, according to VCs
Curio is exhibiting at the Propelify Innovation Festival
Shailja Dixit featured on “Women to Watch with Sue Rocco”
Curio publishes results from its latest Human Factor Trial
Curio partners with Axia Women’s Health to support patients with postpartum depression
Women’s Health Forum: Cognitive & Brain Health
Shailja Dixit joined VentureFuel’s ‘What’s Next Now: Health and Wellness’
Shailja Dixit and Curio featured on “The Balancing Act”: a Lifetime TV program
Curio selected as a finalist for the Reproductive Health Innovation Summit
Women of Community Shoutout: Shailja Dixit
Digital Interventions in Healthcare
Women's Health with Curio and Organon
Digital Women’s Health: Status Quo and Future Expectations
Interview with Eliza Ng of Curio Digital Therapeutics
April 24, 2024: Curio received FDA 510(k) approval for MamaLift Plus: its prescription digital therapeutic to relieve symptoms of postpartum depression (PPD). With this approval, MamaLift Plus becomes the first prescription digital therapeutic authorized for treating PPD.
October 6, 2023: Curio’s MamaLift Plus, its product for treating women with postpartum depression, met its pivotal trial efficacy endpoints. MamaLift Plus was tested in the Supporting Maternal Mental Health and Emotional Regulation (SuMMER) trial, which included 141 patients who had already been diagnosed with postpartum depression and had a baseline score greater than or equal to 13 but less than 19 on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Around 83% of those who were treated by Curio’s MamaLift achieved a four point improvement or greater in EPDS score: a clinically meaningful improvement. Only 22% of those in the control arm of the trial achieved a similar improvement.
August 15, 2023: In its mid-year 2023 healthcare report, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) named women’s health as the sector to watch, writing “Now more than ever, it is evident that investment into this space can bring impressive returns for multiple players, including investors, providers and payers.” The report also included a market map of women’s health subsectors that have raised the most amount of funds from venture capital investors since 2015, and Curio was included in the “Women’s Mental Health” subsector. Antiva Biosciences, AOA, Axena Health, Madorra, and Midi - five other Avestria portfolio companies - also made the market map across subsectors.
July 27, 2023: Curio is a nominee for the 2023 Prix Galien USA “Best Digital Health Solution” award. These awards, hosted by The Galien Foundation, recognize top innovations in healthcare across four categories: “Best Digital Health Solution”, “Best Medical Technology”, “Incubators, Accelerators, and Equity”, and “Best Startup”. Raydiant Oximetry, another Avestria portfolio company, also received a nomination: for “Best Startup”.
May 31, 2023: Shailja Dixit of Curio Digital Therapeutics made Slice of Healthcare’s list of “The Top Founders and Leaders Driving Innovation in Women’s Health in 2023”. This list covers the top 50 entrepreneurs and investors in women’s health, across 10 different categories, including diagnostics and testing, maternal health, and general health and wellness. Oriana Papin-Zoghbi of AOA Dx, Joanna Strober of Midi Health, and Neil Ray of Raydiant Oximetry are three other Avestria portfolio company CEOs that also made the list.
March 8, 2023: On International Women’s Day 2023, Startek - a customer experience solutions provider - announced that it would be offering Curio’s MamaLift program to Startek’s U.S employees for postpartum mental health support. Curio’s evidence-based, personalized, on-demand MamaLift program allows postpartum Startek associates to get the support they need, to thrive in the office and at home, and to help retain women who want to continue working after they give birth.
February 15, 2023: The Reproductive Health Innovation Summit is held every year in February as an offshoot of the Women’s Health Innovation Summit (which takes place in September). Both events have a company showcase, with companies submitted and voted upon by a panel of investors, including Linda Greub. Curio was chosen as one of the finalists, allowing the company to pitch in person at the event in front of investors, potential partners, and other women’s health supporters. Mae and Raydiant Oximetry - two other Avestria portfolio companies - were also chosen as finalists.
February 1, 2023: Curio was one of the 17 receipts of New Jersey’s Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology (CSIT)’s Maternal and Infant Health R&D Seed Grant program, which launched last June. Although the program initially started as providing $750,000 in total grant funding across recipients, this year, the total distributed amount was $1.275M due to the quality and interest of applying startups. Curio received $75,000 total and will be using the funds to continue to deliver care to new and expecting mothers from underserved communities.
December 22, 2022: Just around a week after it was announced as a finalist, Curio was chosen as the VentureFuel 2022 Venture of the Year. Public audiences selected Curio as the winner among the top six finalists in this “Hall of Fame for startups” for Shailja Dixit’s inventive solutions, forward-thinking intentions, novel business model, and ability to improve society.
December 14, 2022: Curio, represented by Shailja Dixit, is one of VentureFuel’s 2022 Venture of the Year finalists. The Venture of the Year finalists are nominated by their peers for their dedication for upending traditional business models, powering innovative solutions, and improving the future. The winner of these six companies will be voted on by the public, and each has a podcast episode so that voters can learn more. Listen to Curio’s episode here.
December 6, 2022: Shailja Dixit was invited onto the DTx podcast with host Eugene Borukhovic to talk about using digital therapeutics for women’s health. As she explained on the podcast, Curio combines cognitive behavioral therapy, interpersonal therapy and behavioral activation therapy for a digital health that aims to provide digital health programs for women across life stages and events, starting with postpartum depression. (This podcast episode is also available on Apple, Google, and Spotify.)
October 17, 2022: Curio was highlighted in this Business Insider article about 35 of the most promising femtech startups, according to VCs. Tracy Dooley, Avestria Partner, was quoted about Curio’s payer-based approach or, in other words, how its MamaLift™ program would be paid for, prescribed, and reimbursed. Avestria portfolio companies AOA Dx, Mae, Midi, and Raydiant Oximetry were also included in this article. Note: membership required for viewing.
October 6, 2022: Described as the “SXSW of the Northeast” by Forbes, the Propelify Innovation Festival connects entrepreneurs and innovators with 5,000 people and thousands of startups attending. Curio will be exhibiting among other startups and among established companies, such as TriNet, Verizon, and various universities.
September 16, 2022: Shailja Dixit was the guest of “Women to Watch with Sue Rocco”. She was joined by Mariekarl Vilceus-Talty, the President and CEO of The Partnership for Maternal & Child Health of Northern NJ to talk about the collaboration between Curio and MCHNJ and how both women and the companies that they’re leading provide much-needed support for new and expectant mothers, both in New Jersey and beyond.
August 25, 2022: Curio published the results of its latest Human Factor Trial. This trial surveyed end user experience with its MamaLift™ Plus app to support their treatment of postpartum depression. Participants found that the app was acceptable, highly usable, and practical and recommended that the content be presented in bite-sized modules rather than in one 10-15 minute module per day. These feedback is being used to enhance the user experience for the next iteration of the MamaLift™ Plus app.
June 30, 2022: Curio has partnered with Axia Women’s Health, one of the U.S’ largest women’s health groups, to bring postpartum depression resources to new and expecting mothers across multiple states. Curio’s MamaLift™ program allows mothers who have been diagnosed with postpartum depression and mothers-to-be who are at risk for postpartum depression to access personalized self-help tools and trackers to manage their symptoms. Select patients across six Axia Women’s Health care centers in Ohio, Indiana, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania have access to MamaLift™ currently, while Axia and Curio plan to expand the accessibility of the program in the coming months.
June 29, 2022: In the latest “Women’s Health Forum: Cognitive & Brain Health” (hosted by the Women’s Health Innovation Coalition), Shailja Dixit was one of the speakers covering women’s mental health, especially postpartum depression. 2020 Mom, Cisco, NeuroGeneces, and others also joined the health forum to share their thoughts and innovations in the space. This forum took place in June, which is Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month.
May 24, 2022: For Venture Fuel’s “What’s Next Now: Health and Wellness” conversation, Shailja Dixit joined Dov Shamir, Ph.D. – Head of Elementa Labs at Mount Sinai Innovation Partners, and Vasu Nadella, Co-Founder and CEO of Vital Bio about emerging trends, the role of healthtech and big tech, spaces for innovation, and new ways to think about prevention and care, especially in women’s health.
May 23, 2022: May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and Shailja Dixit joined “The Balancing Act” and its hosts, Montell Williams and Olga Villaverde, to talk about what postpartum depression is, how many mothers experience it, and how they can manage it. While Curio is developing a line of digital therapeutics tools for women and their health, the company’s first product - MamaLift™ - focuses on postpartum depression.
January 11, 2022: Curio was selected as one of the 15 finalists for the Reproductive Health Innovation Summit’s Innovation Spotlight. The 15 finalists were chosen based on a selection committee, including Avestria’s Tracy Dooley, across three categories: contraception, fertility, and maternal health. As one of the finalists, Curio will have the chance to give a one-minute “lightning pitch” to the attendees of the Reproductive Health Innovation Summit, who include investors, corporate partners, and other entrepreneurs in the space.
December 15, 2021: Every Wednesday, Women of Community highlights a shoutout that one community member would like to give another member. This week’s shoutout was to Shailja Dixit, who was recognized by Avestria partner Tracy Dooley, for Shailja’s dedication to innovating in women’s behavioral health, her resilience in overcoming adversity as both a female and an immigrant entrepreneur, and her philosophy on not saying “no” to opportunities.
September 30, 2021: Shailja Dixit joined Bill Taranto of Global Health Innovations, Paul Sonnier of HITLAB, and Sheila Collins of AARP Innovation Labs to discuss the role and significance of digital interventions in healthcare, such as Curio’s digital therapeutics platform. This symposium is one of several that HITLAB host throughout the year to share the latest advancements in digital health.
July 30, 2021: In this interview, Shailja Dixit sat down with Natalie Principe, Lead of Innovation: Strategy & Digital Health Technologies at Organon, the recent spin-off of Merck. Organon’s mission is to provide a voice and health solutions to women around the world, and, over the course of 15 minutes, the two discuss the need for innovations in - and support for - women’s health and the roles of Curio and Organon in closing that gap.
July 15, 2021: This blog post is the result of the HealthXL meeting series in digital women’s health. Women are 75% more likely than their male peers to use digital health tools to improve their heath, and this blog brings together the collective input of pioneering women in healthcare - from companies including Bayer AG, Curio, HealthXL, and Merck - to explain the most explored area in digital women’s health so far, the unmet needs, and the steps that can be taken for those needs to be addressed.
June 25, 2021: Professor Stan Kachnowski, chairman of HITLAB, spoke to Eliza Ng, Chief Medical Officer of Curio, in this interview. The conversation covered foundational data that Curio is using to build an impactful platform, such as the ability to predict which mothers are most likely to develop postpartum depression, how many mothers are open to using e-mental health tools, and how Curio’s MamaLift™ product has helped its trial participants report a lower depression score than the control group.
June 24, 2021: For this discussion, Shailja Dixit joined executives from ClearDATA, HITLAB, GE Healthcare, Novartis, Raytheon, and GSK for a discussion on the barriers and regulatory challenges that face digital health companies and the offerings they are trying to commercialize. This symposium is one of several that HITLAB host throughout the year to share the latest advancements in digital health.
March 26, 2021: In this interview, Professor Stan Kachnowski, Chair of HITLAB, was joined by both Shailja Dixit, Curio’s CEO and Eliza Ng, Curio’s Chief Medical Officer. The three cover the gender gap in mental health solutions, the connection between physical and mental health, and the balance of standardization and personalization that Curio is trying to provide to its users.
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