Ep. 21: Conceiving Change: At-Home Insemination Innovation with PherDal

The fertility journey can be a heartbreaking, time-consuming, and costly experience for many individuals worldwide. Globally, 1 in 6 people are affected by infertility, with 19% of women aged 15 to 49 unable to get pregnant after one year of trying. When Dr. Jennifer Hintzsche was told she had unexplained fertility during her pregnancy journey, doctors expected her to undergo invasive infertility treatments that cost tens of thousands of dollars. That’s when Dr. Jenn put her mind to work and began treating infertility as a scientific problem waiting to be solved. The result was her startup company known as PherDal, which offers the only sterile, FDA cleared at home insemination kit for individuals experiencing infertility. In this episode of FemInnovation, host Bethany Corbin sits down with Dr. Jenn to discuss her infertility journey, the creation of her startup, the FDA clearance process, the experience of crowdfunding her business, and much more! 

About Dr. Jennifer Hintzsche:

Dr.  Jenn has defiantly stepped out of the shadows of an "infertile" diagnosis, setting her sights on revolutionizing healthcare. With a portfolio of over two dozen peer-reviewed scientific articles and 600+ citations in prestigious journals like Nature, Dr. Jenn's acumen is well-recognized. She became the first individual to receive a Ph.D. in Bioinformatics from NIU in 2014, preceded by a Master’s in the same field. During her postdoctoral tenure at the University of Colorado, she made significant strides in cancer genomics that secured million-dollar grants, papers, and clinical trials. In 2019, she brought her expertise to healthcare SaaS as an analyst and developer. Within four years, she assumed leadership roles at two rapidly expanding pharmaceutical SaaS companies, helping them exponentially scale revenue past 15M+.

Driven by a deep-seated passion, Dr. Hintzsche founded PherDal (a clever play on “fertile” with a nod to her Ph.D.), offering the first sterile, affordable, FDA-cleared at home fertility treatment. PherDal’s initial 200 proof-of-concept kits sold out in 90 days, resulting in 34 reported pregnancies. In 2022, the company crowdfunded over $630K for FDA clearance. In 2023, Dr. Hintzsche was a top 5 finalist at the SXSW Pitch competition and featured innovator at LSI’s Emerging MedTech Conference, and was selected to be part of the top 30 FemTech Companies to participate in Femovate. 

RELEVANT LINKS: 

• Learn more about PherDal at this website. 
• Follow PherDal on Facebook. 
• Watch Dr. Jenn's Scientifically Femtech Video Interview (where she provides advice to the next generation of researchers and scientists looking to get involved in femtech) on the FemInnovator Community (login required – sign up for a FREE membership to the FemInnovator Community here to access the content and use coupon code FREEMEMBERSHIP).

Connect with Our Guest, Dr. Jennifer Hintzsche: LINKEDIN | INSTAGRAM 

Follow Our Host, Bethany Corbin: WEBSITE | LINKEDIN | INSTAGRAM | ADDITIONAL LINKS