Nabta Health

To address the gaps in women’s healthcare, and to ensure a greater degree of affordability, accessibility and personalization for women in the identification and management of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), a new model of healthcare is required; one that begins and ends with women.

We call this model Hybrid Healthcare - seamlessly combining digital health with traditional healthcare to improve the health outcomes of women living with NCDs.

The growing epidemic of NCDs threatens the ambition of countries around the world to achieve sustainable, universal access to health and universal health coverage for their populations.

NCDs are responsible for >70% of female fertility issues.

Nabta’s first care pathway supports women in identifying and managing NCDs directly impacting their fertility through fertility tracking and monitoring, at-home testing, virtual consultations and a machine-learning driven personal assistant named Aya.

Nabta is initially focusing on the diagnosis of infertility due to Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) as the first of several personalized care pathways powered by machine learning.

An estimated 320 million women suffer with PCOS globally, although 70% of all PCOS cases are mis- or undiagnosed. Nabta’s aim is to reduce the time it takes women to arrive at a diagnosis of PCOS from an average of two and a half years to three months. In addition to this, Nabta aims to address, through targeted content and a series of specific D2C and B2B2C awareness campaigns, the three problems that have been identified as contributing to the delays associated with diagnosing PCOS and related fertility issues:

(i) Lack of clinician knowledge and training;

(ii) Lack of properly defined and nuanced diagnostic processes.

(iii) Lack of consumer awareness.

Once Nabta has achieved the required clinical outcomes associated with this first pathway, it will apply the same model of hybrid healthcare, centered around machine learning and precision medicine, to pathways associated with Prenatal and Postpartum care, and from there to pathways associated with other key focus areas spanning the five hormonal stages in a woman’s life.

Nabta’s hybrid model of care involves (i) analyzing existing care pathways to identify the key pain points, i.e. points at which a user gets “stuck” and cannot find a medical solution, and (ii) identifying digital health components that could be used to address and eventually eliminate those pain points.

The objective of Nabta’s first care pathway is to enable women to identify NCDs directly impacting their fertility in <90 days.

Initially, Nabta is working with third party digital health products and third party healthcare providers to keep its costs low and prove that Nabta’s model of Hybrid Healthcare is superior to traditional healthcare. Once the model is proven, Nabta will develop its own digital health products and its own healthcare ecosystem.

The predictive analytics built into Nabta’s platform will continuously evaluate and re-evaluate the clinical outcomes of women on the platform against clinical outcomes off-platform, and will use this analysis to refine and enhance the recommended trajectory for each individual user along the care pathway.

Nabta will always act to preserve the sanctity of human life. Nabta wants to empower women to view and use their own bodies as their primary source of good health and wellbeing. In the long term, Nabta aims to reduce women’s dependencies on drugs and other medical interventions, and recommend diagnostic and treatment options to women that prioritize value-based care over commercial incentives.

Nabta’s broad target market is women in MEASA between the ages of 14 and 58. Nabta’s first hybrid care pathway will be focused on women between the ages of 18 and 42 who fall into one of two categories:

I - women with confirmed PCOS

II - women who have been trying to conceive for more than six months without success

Nabta improves healthcare delivery and diagnostics, lowering barriers to seeking care, including stigma.

Because Nabta is proudly by and for the MEASA region, all of Nabta’s product offerings as well as its content and guidelines have been designed to uphold the unique cultural, linguistic and religious considerations of the region. 

Often times a woman's value is attached to her ability to conceive and deliver healthy children for her family. Nabta was founded on the belief that the key to empowering women is to give them access to the knowledge and tools to embrace and manage their fertility.

Nabta is a pioneer in (i) Hybrid Healthcare, and (ii) the use of applied machine learning and Natural Language Processing (NLP) in women’s health.

In addition to this, Nabta is one of only a handful of companies in MENA that is pursuing a triple bottom line (people, planet and profit), with alignment to three of the seventeen United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

• 3 - Good Health and Well Being
• 4 - Quality Education
• 5 - Gender Equality

Nabta is the only “by women, for women” healthcare company in the MEASA region. As such, Nabta is perfectly placed to act as a strategic partner for the marketing and distribution of high-tech women’s health companies incorporated outside of the region, such as Nannocare and The Flex Company.

The digital component of Nabta’s Hybrid Healthcare platform is structured as follows:

Figure 8 - Nabta Technical Architecture

Third party devices and apps such as the OvuSense Realtime Fertility Monitor are integrated at the Business logic layer.

The predictive analytics built into Nabta’s platform will continuously evaluate and re-evaluate the clinical outcomes of women on the platform against clinical outcomes off-platform, and will use this analysis to refine and enhance the recommended trajectory for each individual user along the care pathway.

PCOS Hybrid Healthcare Pathway

Day 0 - A user downloads the Nabta App. Nabta’s AI Chatbot, Aya.ai, takes her basic information and logs her concerns. Aya asks further information to find out if the user may have signs of PCOS.

Day 0 - If users describe any signs or symptoms of PCOS, they are prompted to purchase the OvuSense Realtime Fertility Monitor; this is to allow the users to understand if anovulation is the reason for the lack of infertility.

Day 1 - Users receive and begin using the OvuSense Real-time Fertility Monitor. Users are provided with insights courtesy of Aya.ai.

Days 3 to 60 - Users receive a confirmed ovulation status. If users ovulate, they are provided with guidance to optimise their chances of a successful implantation. If they have irregular cycles, they are prompted to purchase a Hormone Test Kit to confirm their testosterone / androgen levels;

Day 61-70 - Users receive their Hormone Test Kit by courier, self-sample is possible or Nabta will arrange for a phlebotomist to the users’ home, and blood is dispatched with a courier for laboratory analysis.

Day 63-72 - Users receive the results of their Hormone Test Kit. Users with normal hormone levels are referred to an OB/GYN for a transvaginal ultrasound to confirm the status of their ovaries. Users with elevated hormone levels with confirmed irregular cycles are referred to a local OB/GYN for a virtual OR in-clinic appointment to confirm PCOS and advise on next steps.

With Nabta's Hybrid Healthcare approach, a typical diagnosis of PCOS (as an example of an NCD impacting fertility) will take between 60 and 90 days.

Currently, it takes women an average of 2 years and 3 doctors to be diagnosed with PCOS, according to an online survey of 1,385 PCOS patients (1) and up to 70% of women with PCOS are never diagnosed (2).

According to the World Economic Forum, the world will lose USD 30 trillion to NCDs by 2030 unless new methods of diagnosis and treatment can be found (3). During the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, 95% of deaths occurred in individuals with NCDs (4). Each year, two in every three deaths in women are caused by NCDs, and most NCD deaths among women occur in low- and middle-income countries (5).

“To improve the health of women most efficiently, adequate resources need to be allocated to the prevention, management and treatment of NCDs in women.” (6)

The prevalence of metabolic syndrome, inclusive of Type 2 Diabetes, gestational diabetes and obesity, is significantly higher in MENA when compared to the worldwide average.

Metabolic syndrome is directly correlated with PCOS. Close to 75% of PCOS cases (7) surveyed from an Egyptian study showed a correlation with metabolic syndrome Obesity alone is 2-3 times higher in the GCC when compared to the world average, with Kuwait having the highest levels.

There is a significant market opportunity associated with addressing the prevalence of NCDs (particularly metabolic disorders) among women in MEASA.

(1) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5413168/

(2) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23210095

(3) Why the 21st century’s biggest health challenge is our shared responsibility, World Economic Forum, 2019

(4) New CDC data shows danger of coronavirus for those with diabetes, heart or lung disease, other chronic conditions

(5) Women and NCDs: Overcoming the neglect

(6) Women's health: a global agenda, BMJ Glob Health, 2016

(7) "Insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and metabolic syndrome in women ...." 2 Mar. 2010

Nabta’s Total Addressable Market (TAM) for its first hybrid care pathway is the 467 million women in MEASA (Middle East, Africa, South Asia), who are married and between the ages of 25 and 39 years old. The Service Addressable Market (SAM) is the 31 million couples who are actively trying to conceive, and the Service Obtainable Market (SOM) is 50,000 couples, or approximately 0.1% of the SAM.

The healthcare market in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is one of the fastest growing in the world. In the UAE alone, the healthcare sector is expected to grow by 60% in just five years - from USD 17BN in 2016 to over USD 28BN by 2021. Much of this growth, as defined by the UAE 2021 Vision National Agenda, will be fueled by investments in preventive medicine to address the issue of NCDs, which are, “the leading global cause of death and are responsible for 70% of deaths worldwide” (WHO, 2017).

Initially, Nabta will focus on the global fertility services market, worth USD 31.0BN or circa USD 3.1BN in MENA. 

The globalisation of clinical research and trials is a relatively recent phenomenon. In 1995, over 90% of clinical trials were conducted in the United States or Western Europe. By 2015, the number of countries serving as trial sites had more than doubled.

The need for more representative clinical trials based on peer-reviewed clinical research is greater now than ever before. Systematic evaluation of the differences between men and women, in the form of a new body of clinical research spearheaded by Nabta, could improve the understanding of diseases.

In June 2018, the government of Abu Dhabi announced a USD 50 billion fund to fuel business growth in the UAE, of which USD 1.06 billion has since been allocated to support local research and development.

Nabta is lobbying for an additional 5% of the USD 50 billion to be allocated to support local clinical research and development, on the basis that the establishment of study sites in the UAE for clinical research into NCDs in women presents an opportunity for economic diversification that could be worth up to USD 15 trillion globally by 2030.

The vast amounts of investment capital available to companies based in Europe and the U.S. means that the market penetration potential for companies such as Ava Women, which raised USD 42.3M over 3 investment rounds, is huge.

Although Nabta has first-mover advantage in MEASA, the relatively nascent state of venture capital in the region means that Nabta could struggle to grow its market share sufficiently before international players with deeper pockets established a presence.

Continue to work with investors focused on the MENA region.

Our core team currently consists of 23 members across the MENA region.

An incredible team with a mix of strategic, clinical, scientific and technical expertise across multiple regions and countries.