Madorra has developed a device that offers non-hormonal, non-invasive treatment option for women, enabling breast cancer survivors and post-menopausal women suffering from vaginal dryness to improve their sexual health and quality of life.
CEO: Holly Rockweiler
Headquarters: Portland, OR
Year Founded: 2014
Year Avestria First Invested: 2019 (Fund I)
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Recent Press:
Will there be a little blue pill for postmenopausal women?
Madorra featured in SVB’s “Innovation in Women’s Heath 2023” report
Madorra featured in SVB’s “Healthcare Investments and Exits” update
Madorra’s device could offer a new non-hormonal treatment for vaginal atrophy
Madorra’s positive pilot study results are published in the journal “Menopause”
Madorra is joining MATTER 51 Labs’ inaugural cohort
Busine$$ of the V podcast: Restoring vaginal vibrancy without hormones
WashU women changing the way we live and work
3 ways to become a more effective board member (featuring Christina Jenkins, a Madorra board member)
Why design thinking is crucial for medical device innovation: an interview with Holly Rockweiler
Holly Rockweiler co-hosts AOBIO’s “Life & Biosciences Sector Map”
UCSF Rosenman Institute’s Healthtech Leader of the Month: Holly Rockweiler
Madorra selected for inaugural Series P accelerator
Holly Rockweiler graduates from the Ferolyn Fellowship program
Madorra named one of Oregon’s top wellness startups
Holly Rockweiler featured on Oregon Bioscience Incubator’s “Future of Femtech” social hour
Madorra’s trial data presented at NAMS
FDA grants Madorra breakthrough device designation status
Let’s improve the health of women, period.
Madorra wins FemAging pitch competition
Spotlight: Holly Rockweiler, Ferolyn Fellow
Holly Rockweiler is a panelist for the Women’s Health Innovation Forum: Gynecology & Sexual Health
The $10 billion business of perimenopause
How Tech Is Making Menopause a No-Sweat Lifestage
Madorra selected to present at Cooley’s Capital Call fundraising event
Holly Rockweiler featured on Women’s Health Tech Wednesdays
Madorra mentioned in interview with Trish Costello of Portfolia
Holly Rockweiler moderates Oregon Bio Digital Conference’s “The Road to Successful Exits” panel
Holly Rockweiler featured on HLTH’s “Opening Minds & Doors to Opportunity in Femtech” panel
Madorra abstract featured in the North American Menopause Society’s Virtual Annual Meeting
Holly Rockweiler featured on NCI’s “How to Prepare and Perfect Your Pitch” panel
Madorra named winner at angel investing innovation showcase
Holly Rockweiler featured on OHSU’s Customer Outreach panel
Madorra mentioned in Forbes’ “Menopause Journey” article
Madorra featured in O Magazine’s May issue
Interview: Holly Rockweiler & Golden Seeds
Portland Tribune features Madorra
Overwhelming interest in Madorra
Madorra mentioned in Forbes’ “FemTech in 2020” article
January 16, 2024: This article, written for Cosmopolitan’s digital issue, argues that money and misogyny have hindered innovations in menopause. Although 1.3 million U.S women enter menopause per year and the global menopause market may have been worth an estimated $16.9B in 2023, women still have to face unwilling or uneducated doctors, stigma, and a lack of surefire fixes. However, this article does list a few promising treatment options in development, one of which is Madorra’s ultrasound device.
December 5, 2023: Silicon Valley Bank (SVB)’s inaugural “Innovation in Women’s Health 2023” puts the spotlight on women’s health: on both its need for funding and R&D and on the founders and companies heading innovations in the space. Madorra was featured as a notable deal in menopause devices. Antiva Biosciences, AOA, Axena Health, Mae, and Midi - five other Avestria portfolio companies - were also mentioned throughout the report.
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 Madorra was included in the “Menopause” subsector. Antiva Biosciences, AOA, Axena Health, Curio, and Midi - five other Avestria portfolio companies - also made the market map across subsectors.
February 15, 2023: This article from FemTech Insider highlights Madorra and chronicles the company’s successes so far. Those achievements include receiving Breakthrough Device status by the FDA and the results from its Pilot 1 Clinical study (which were recently published in the journal “Menopause”) and its Pilot 2 Clinical study, which will be presented at the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health (ISSWSH) in March.
February 7, 2023: Madorra’s positive pilot study results have been published in “Menopause”: the official journal of the North American Menopause Society (NAMS). In the article, Madorra’s team members - and the article’s authors - noted the safety and effectiveness of the company’s ultrasound treatment for vaginal dryness in a randomized, controlled trial against a sham. The results of this trial show that ultrasound technology, like the non-hormonal, non-invasive solution that Madorra is developing, can be a novel, safe, and effective treatment for menopausal women with vaginal dryness. (Read the corresponding press release here.)
December 7, 2022: Madorra was one of the 15 menopause startups selected to join MATTER 51 Labs’ inaugural cohort. MATTER launched 51 Labs to focus on women+’s health, and this cohort specifically is looking towards menopause, which is affecting 1.3 million U.S women+ who are entering their menopause transition this year.
November 20, 2022: Holly Rockweiler was the latest guest in Rachel Braun Scherl and Alyssa Dweck’s Busine$$ of the V podcast. While menopause, vaginal dryness, and painful sex have been common for women, Holly and the Madorra team are approaching the issue in the new way. They realized that vaginal blood flow was critical for lubrication and used that information to develop a device that would stimulate blood flow in the vagina - without the need for hormones or an invasive procedure.
June 20, 2022: The Washington University of St. Louis’ Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the WashU Alumni Association co-hosted this vritual event. The event featured four women leaders who are in organizations and businesses focused on bettering women’s lives; they included moderator Mitzi Krockover, AB ’81, Dwana Franklin-Davis, MS ’09, CEO of Reboot Representation, Chele Marmet, BS ’68, a leader in lactation consulting; and Holly Rockweiler, BS ’07, MS ’07 of Madorra.
June 16, 2022: Inc. interviewed Christina Jenkins, an investor in women’s health companies, about her experience on being a board member of various companies and the advice that she’d share as a result, including asking the right questions, staying engaged, and being mindful of what you’re saying. Christina Jenkins is a lead venture investor at Portfolia and is on the board of Madorra, among others.
March 15, 2022: Holly Rockweiler didn’t plan on being an “activist in a lab coat” as she calls herself, but she’s proud of that label and of its connotations for the patients she has been trying to help. In this 45-minute interview, Holly talks to Medsider about how design thinking can lead to creative solutions, why her favorite day of the year was Quality Day when she worked at Boston Scientific, and what value comes from listening to teachers, investors, consultants, and patients.
February 23, 2022: Along with Erik Tucker of Aronora, Holly Rockweiler co-hosted an informational session on the life sciences and biosciences for Angel Oregon Life and Biosciences (AOBIO). As part of its offerings, AOBIO, a Pacific Northwest life and biosciences investment program, brings together local entrepreneurs in therapeutics, diagnostics, medical devices, or health innovation. In their “Life & Biosciences Sector Map” session, Holly and Erik brought insight and advice to young founders about R&D, regulatory approvals, and funding and go-to-market strategies across healthcare sectors.
February 15, 2022: The UCSF Rosenman Institute named Holly Rockweiler as its healthcare leader of the month for February 2022. In her subsequent interview, Holly shares three pieces of wisdom that she learned from getting her original idea to Madorra to building the business to leading it through COVID-19: know your patients, customers, and stakeholders, remember the bigger picture, and know the power of the team behind you.
December 1, 2021: Madorra was selected for the inaugural cohort of Series P: a collaboration accelerator sponsored by Procter & Gamble Ventures and Plug and Play. Series P targets consumer goods that are health and wellness focused and offers general and specialized workshops, webinars, office hours, mentorship, and networking opportunities.
November 9, 2021: Holly Rockweiler, Ayo Roberts and Rachel Kuperman were the three graduates of the fifth annual Ferolyn Fellowship program. Ferolyn Fellows include healthcare leaders, including consultants, venture partners, and founders, like Holly. You can also read the Feroyln Fellows’ spotlight of Holly here
November 1, 2021: Madorra was named one of the 74 best Oregon wellness startups. The list is based on the “exceptional performance” in innovation, growth, management, or social impact of each company, which range from established brands to startups.
October 12, 2021: This year-long, sham-controlled study of lasers for vaginal atrophy found no significant improvement from lasers for women with vaginal atrophy symptoms. This study is the first sham-controlled study of the effect of lasers and shows the need for alternative treatment options - like Madorra’s - for women with symptoms of vaginal atrophy.
September 28, 2021: Oregon Bioscience Incubator hosted its first Invent-a-Thon Social Hour in September. The theme of the panel was the “Future of Femtech” and Holly Rockweiler joined Melissa Hanna, Co-founder and CEO of Mahmee and Fahti Khosrowshahi, Founder and CEO of Ceek Women’s Health to talk about their starts in entrepreneurship, the importance of women-centric innovations in healthcare and med-tech, and the need for health equity.
September 24, 2021: At the North American Menopause Society’s (NAMS) annual meeting, Dr. Mindy Goldman presented the results of Madorra’s recent trial, which measured its device’s effectiveness in treating post-menopausal women with symptoms of vulvovaginal atrophy. NAMS is the leading nonprofit scientific organization dedicated to women who are either at or beyond their midlife.
September 8, 2021: Madorra’s non-invasive, non-hormonal device to treat vaginal dryness has received breakthrough device designation from the FDA. The Breakthrough Designation Program helps identify and speed up access to healthcare technologies that can help diagnose or treat debilitating or life-threatening conditions or diseases. By being granted this status, Madorra will also receive priority review for subsequent FDA submissions for its device.
July 20, 2021: In this article, Nicola Cohen interviewed Holly Rockweiler as part of Accenture’s Women in Life Sciences program. She and Holly covered the positive trend of focusing on women’s health needs after their reproductive years, the necessity of supporting other women - especially in a space like women’s health - and the embarrassment that women (shouldn’t) have about saying the word “vagina”.
May 20, 2021: The FemAging Project is dedicated to understanding and amplifying the needs of women who are over 40. With the Keiretsu Forum Southern California, The FemAging Project hosted a fast pitch competition to highlight companies that are developing solutions specifically for women over 40. Madorra was announced as the grand prize winner with InControl Medical and Bone Health Technologies as the runner-ups.
May 5, 2021: Fogarty Institute offers a fellowship called the Ferolyn Fellowship, which seeks out rising medtech leaders, especially female founders, that have the passion and skill to transform healthcare. Holly Rockweiler, a Ferolyn Fellow, describes her experience with the program - as well as the background that lead her to found and lead Madorra - in this blog post.
April 28, 2021: Organized by the Women’s Health Innovation Coalition and Springboard Enterprises, the Women’s Health Innovation Forum is a series to highlight opportunities in women’s health in a variety of spaces, including autoimmune disease, brain health, and gynecology and sexual health. Holly Rockweiler was a panelist on the Gynecology and Sexual Health Forum to discuss menopause, sexual health, and the market for Madorra’s non-invasive, non-hormonal vaginal dryness. Watch the recording here.
April 19, 2021: An estimated 6,000 women are entering perimenopause daily - yet most women don’t even know what it is or why they’re experiencing specific symptoms before the actual onset of menopause. This article mentions several companies, including Elektra Health, Madorra, and Gennev, that are addressing this market, providing education to their consumers, and providing solutions to perimenopause and menopause symptoms.
April 8, 2021: 75% of menopausal women are seeking solutions and 93% of them are looking for non-invasive fixes - yet only 20% of OB/GYN residency programs provide any kind of menopause training. This article highlights Gennev, Thermaband, vFit, and Madorra as non-invasive products and tools that are providing some of the solutions that women are seeking. These companies aim to use their technology to help women through some of the most common effects of menopause, including hot flashes, bladder leaks, and vaginal dryness.
March 23, 2021: Madorra was one of 14 companies, chosen from a pool of over 100 applicants, that presented at Cooley’s Capital Call fundraising event for digital health and medtech startups. The presenting companies were chosen based on their high potential, among other criteria, and were allowed to do a five-minute pitch as well as breakout Q&As and demos with several hundred VCs and angel investors.
March 17, 2021: HitLab’s Women’s Health Wednesdays are weekly events to engage, educate, and inspire in the healthcare commiunity. Holly Rockweiler was featured on this week’s event to discuss solutions, like Madorra’s, that help improve the quality of life after menopause. She was joined by Nina Joshi, Consultant at Kaiser Permanete.
February 1, 2021: FemTech Insider sat down with Trish Costello, founder and leader of Portfolia, to talk about the firm, its two femtech funds, and trends in women’s health innovation. In this interview, Trish Costello mentions Portfolia’s investments in companies such as Madorra, which can help enhance or even save women’s lives.
November 19, 2020: At this year’s Oregon Bio Digital Conference, Holly Rockweiler moderated a panel on “The Road to Successful Exits”. Featuring Dan Snyder MBA, formerly of Molecular MD (acquired by ICON) and Matthew Johnson, Vice President of Wearables and Digital Markers, ERT, this panel goes into depth about leading teams to and through M&As.
October 15, 2020: HLTH is the largest health innovation conference. At this year’s event, Holly Rockweiler joins Amy Millman, President of Springboard Enterprises, and Jessica Zeaske, Partner at Echo Health Ventures for a conversation on femtech: including facing stigma, overcoming bias, and securing financing.
September 30, 2020: In the North American Menopause Society (NAMS)’s annual meeting, Martha Hickey, MD of the University of Melbourne, Australia gave an oral abstract presentation of Madorra, including its effectiveness in treating vaginal dryness. The annual meeting abstracts will also published in the December 2020 issue of the journal Menopause. (Note: membership is required for viewing the presentations. You can also find a written summary of the oral abstract presentations here. Madorra is S-8.)
July 1, 2020: After winning the ACA Summit’s 90-second pitch competition, Holly Rockweiler was featured as a guest speaker on the National Cancer Institute’s “How to Prepare and Perfect Your Pitch” panel. She gave tips to fellow NCI awardees about creating a successful video pitch.
June 26, 2020: Madorra took home two awards at the 2020 ACA Powers of Connection Innovation showcase. Held virtually from May 12-14, presenters had 90 seconds to pitch to investors before they hosted a 15 minute private session to go in depth. Madorra won “Best Pitch” and “Most Venture Taps”. The other winners were Spare-It and Omni Arsenal.
June 25, 2020: Holly Rockweiler was one of four entrepreneurs to be featured on Oregon Health & Science University’s Invent Seminar Series. This panel focused on leveraging market research and customer outreach to launch your idea successfully. Holly was joined by Aaron Call, Founding Principle of Jaunt, Fahti Khosrowshahi, CEO and Founder of Ceek Women’s Health, and Patti White, CEO and Co-Founder of Hemex Health.
June 19, 2020: This article in Forbes’ “FemBeat” series focuses on menopause solutions. While it highlights Gennev, it also list Revel, Elektra Health, and Madorra as other menopause and quality-of-life solutions.
May 2, 2020: Madorra was featured in O Magazine’s May issue in an article called “The FemTech Revolution” which spotlighted rising femtech businesses Currently, the article is available only in print.
April 2, 2020: In this interview with Golden Seeds, Holly Rockweiler talks about her journey from Stanford Biodesign Fellow to CEO of Madorra. She also shares her inspiration for starting the company, the next milestones she wants to hit, and her best advice for early-stage founders.
February 27, 2020: Both Holly Rockweiler, CEO of Madorra, and Fahti Koshrow, CEO of CEEK Women’s Health, were featured in the Portland Tribune as two female founders and entrepreneurs leading a “revolution” in women’s health. Avestria’s Linda Greub was also quoted.
February 26, 2020: The interest in Madorra’s pivot study is so high that the company had to turn off Facebook ads due to the overwhelming response to their call for volunteers. The company is continuing to grow rapidly and is planning on a larger clinical trial in the United States.
January 8, 2020: In 2019, femtech companies received almost $800 million in funding. In this article, investors share their thoughts on trends and opportunities in the women’s health space. One of those investors is Christina Jenkins, Lead Investor at Portfolia Femtech Fund, who invested alongside Avestria in Madorra.
May 20, 2019: Holly Rockweiler sat down with the UCSF Rosenman Institute’s Health Technology podcast to talk about her journey and about Madorra.
April 23, 2019: Members of Women of Wearables, Deloitte Consulting, and FemTech Collective assembled this list of the Top 100 Women in FemTech and HealthTech. Holly Rockweiler is on the list due to her pursuit of a non-invasive, non-hormonal solution to improve the quality of life for women with menopause.