Proov, a leading system to evaluate women's hormones

We had the chance to talk to Dr. Amy Beckley, who has a PhD in pharmacology, and is one of the founders of Proov, a leading system to evaluate women's hormones. After miscarriages and a large amount paid out of pocket, she realized that her only fertility issue was due to a sub-optimal Progesterone production after ovulation.

Dr. Amy Beckley had developed a curiosity and a passion for hormones. She had no idea that she would be confronted with infertility, and her passion for hormones would get a totally new dimension. She explains that she decided to invent a non-invasive method because none was available. The urinary Progesterone test saw the light of day in her fabulous basement, hence the name of her company: MFB (My Fabulous Basement) Fertility.

In describing how the product/service works, Amy outlined that progesterone is essential for pregnancy. It prepares the lining and transforms the uterus in an embryo-friendly environment before implantation, so that a pregnancy may occur.

Amy explains also that urine though is a better marker, because it offers more of an average of the levels measured in blood during the previous 24 hours. The main market of Proov was and still is fertility, but they are naturally moving towards a hormonal health platform for all women, regardless of their reproductive goals. Amy adds that ovulation is a marker of overall health and the start-up has more and more customers interested in tracking their ovulation, just to make sure their hormones are aligned.  

Industry challenges and key trends

The biggest challenge for Proov was the fact that a new product requires a lot of education, and not just customer education but also making the healthcare practitioners trust and recommend the product to their patients. Amy adds that they don’t leave anything to chance, they focus on accuracy, education and a knowledgeable, empathic and supportive customer support service.

It was about time women’s health received the attention it deserved, after thousands of years of being the poor relative of medicine. The past years marked a big step forward in terms of women’s health, and the results are obvious: Femtech is on the rise, mentalities have changed, we are no longer ashamed to talk openly about fertility miscarriage, menopause... More and more companies are genuinely interested in accommodating their female employees, giving them needed time and space to focus on their fertility plans, their physical and mental wellbeing, their hormonal challenges during perimenopause and menopause. The future relies on digital communication, home-testing, online access to empowering, life-changing information.

We asked Amy 3 questions:

What is the most important piece of advice you could give to anyone who wants to start a career in this industry?

“Follow your passion. Never give up, regardless of hardships and challenges, believe in your rainbow. The reward is worth it, and nothing compares to the satisfaction of being able to help create lives.”

What are your biggest achievements to date?

“Would it be a cliché to say that our biggest achievement is that over 80.000 women we helped take charge of their ovulation? The over 1000 pregnancies due to Proov testing and discovering ovulatory problems that otherwise went undetected? Maybe it’s a cliché, but the satisfaction of being able to help women, the way I would have wanted to be helped instead of learning the truth about my body the hard way, is beyond words.”

How is a program such as Tech4Eva useful to you?

“Being together with like-minded people, all united in their passion to advance women’s healthcare is extremely inspiring. Every session gives us the opportunity to learn and share our knowledge. We create partnerships, we get priceless advice from our mentors, we brainstorm together. We were very happy to be accepted in the program, and time proved us we were right.”

For more information on Proov, visit the website: https://proovtest.com/