Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Kinsella says that women deserve a health equity product that is easily accessible, on demand, … [+] hormone free, and OTC, just like condoms are for men. getty When Lisa Kinsella of Chicago was diagnosed with breast cancer and filed for divorce in the same week, she eventually found herself in need of a hormone-free contraceptive option after cancer treatment. Kinsella then discovered that there were no over-the-counter (OTC) hormone-free options for women that also protected against sexually transmitted infections (STIs), while men could find hundreds of OTC condom brands. “Hormones were like food for the kind of cancer I had,” says Kinsella. “So I was blown away that my only option was to rely on somebody else to wear condoms. I was the pilot of my plane in all aspects of my life: I had my house, my career, and my kiddos. I was in charge of myself, yet when it came to contraception I had to rely on somebody else to use something consistently and correctly. And, by the way, condoms don’t feel good, so what’s wrong with this? Why does protection have to sacrifice pleasure? It lit a fire in me to create another option.” Kinsella says that women deserve a health equity product that is easily accessible, on demand, hormone free, and OTC, just like condoms are for men. Men could also benefit from such an option. For example, one study finds that 62% of men ages 18 to 24 won’t wear condoms due to condom-associated erectile problems. Kinsella was motivated to create a new product not only for herself, but also so her children had better options when they were ready. She remembers when it was time to have “the talk” with her son about sex, and prevention of pregnancy and STIs. “I gave him a box of condoms, and I said, ‘You’re in charge of you,’” she recalls. “I remember walking out of his room and looking at my younger daughter’s bedroom, and thinking, ‘What am I going to do when it’s time to have this conversation with her? I have to be able to say the same thing. I have to be able to say, ‘You’re in charge of you.”’ MORE FOR YOU Apple iPhone 16 And iPhone 16 Plus: Everything We Know So Far Election 2024 Swing State Polls: Harris Leads Or Ties Trump In All Battleground States, Latest Survey Finds Kamala Harris Defends Biden Admin’s Economic Record In First Big Interview—But Says ‘More To Do’ This led her to launch a company in 2016 to build out a hormone-free, OTC contraceptive for women, which raised $150,000. She launched the proof of concept in London where it was a shorter regulatory path to market, but put it on hold as life in the U.S. got busy with raising kids and working full time in software sales. Then in June of 2022, Roe v. Wade was overturned, and Kinsella said that it became all too clear that her personal need also reflected a larger issue of women’s bodily autonomy and health equity. “It was the catalyst to take my concept to another level, so in January 2023 I decided to focus on LUWI full time, which is short for ‘let us wear it,’” says Kinsella. (By 2023 the FDA approved an OTC birth control pill, but the pill is not a hormone free option and does not protect against STIs). Lisa Kinsella in the white shirt talks to college students at the UConn annual Sexual Health & … [+] Wellness Fair. Cassy Setzler Kinsella describes LUWI as the opposite of a condom; rather its a “finer liner” that provides a discreet second skin on the inside for hormone-free contraception and chemical-free STI prevention. It’s also latex free for better heat and sensation transfer and is colorless, ordorless, and tasteless. Some of the biggest challenges Kinsella has faced in bringing LUWI to market have been a lack of investment needed to show pre-market traction to prove that there’s a demand. “We have to bring products that serve the needs of women to the market,” says Kinsella. “Otherwise, we just have a world where the products that are available are all what the venture capitalists—the majority of which are men—think are needed. Yet that’s not representative of what the rest of the country needs.” What happens when women aren’t in the room where deals for change are made, she says, is that innovation for women’s health and wellbeing hits a wall. That’s why Kinsella has pivoted from seeking only VC funding—which is granted to just 2% of women-led businesses and to less than 1% for women of color—to focusing on crowdfunding with a Start Engine campaign. As LUWI is currently pending FDA submission, Kinsella says the market potential is huge, and aims for LUWI to crack just .07% of the $1.7 billion U.S. condom market in order to sell 10 million units in their first year post-launch. Sophia Yen, MD, MPH, CEO and co-founder of Pandia Health, says that efficacy is key in bringing more hormone-free, OTC and on-demand contraceptives to the market for women. Condoms, for example, have around a 14% failure rate but when combined with spermicide the failure rate drops to 3% or less. “We want agency over health and wealth for women,” says Kinsella. “We have brought LUWI’s investment opportunity to women by opening up a crowdfunding raise. If one woman finds a passion for investing and is able to build some wealth through that raise, it will have been a step forward in wealth equity. It’s the same sentiment for health; when more women find the answer for their wellness with LUWI, it will be a significant breakthrough in health equity.” Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website. Holly Corbett Following Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions
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