INSIGHTS / News

SETsquared Bristol member, Forth, is set to capitalise on the growth in the female science and technology market as it has secured £1.6m funding to support the launch of its ground-breaking female health product.

Forth’s investment round has attracted backing from a consortium of both UK and overseas investors, including Trajan Scientific and Medical, (Trajan) through its European subsidiary Trajan Scientific Europe Ltd. Headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, Trajan is a global developer and manufacturer of analytical science instruments, devices and solutions and has major operations in Australia, Europe, US and Asia.

It has developed a ground-breaking new hormones test that provides unique personalisation and unparalleled insights into women’s hormone networks.

By combining medical grade laboratory blood analysis with clinical expertise and Artificial Intelligence, Female Hormone Mapping^TM predicts how a women’s four key hormones fluctuate throughout their entire cycle. It will help identify any potential problem areas, confirm if ovulation has occurred, confirm if women over 40 years old have entered perimenopause, provide an evidence-based action plan to support a female hormone network and more.

Leading the team at Forth is CEO and Co-founder Sarah Bolt. She said: “Today, more and more people are realising that understanding and measuring your body’s biochemistry is key for a long and healthy life. For women in particular, gaining unique insight into how their hormone levels fluctuate throughout their unique cycle can give women the support they have been lacking and help to close the gender health gap.”

Stephen Tomisich, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director at Trajan, stated: “We have known the founders and majority shareholders at Forth for some time. We share common values around delivering good science that helps people achieve better health outcomes. We are both intensely focused on delivering impact and working together we believe we will do just that.”

The Development Bank of Wales has also supported this second round of funding with follow-on equity of £250,000 bringing its total investment to date to £500,000. Senior Investment Executive Alexander Leigh said: “Sarah and the team have done incredibly well to secure a strong market position in a rapidly growing sector. The company is ranked by Trustpilot as the highest rated service in the sector and has all the drive and the skills to deliver on their vision.

“Our follow-on equity funding coupled with Trajan’s strategic investment will now give Forth unique access to cutting edge technologies as they develop their innovative product offering with Female Hormone Mapping. We‘re proud to be behind this great team and wish them every success.”

Forth reported revenue growth of over 100% in June 2020 compared to the previous year. The company was then awarded an innovation grant in September 2020 to develop a unique female hormone product.  In 2020 founder and CEO, Sarah Bolt won Health & Wellbeing Entrepreneur of the Year for Wales at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards and is currently a finalist for the Natwest Everywoman Award.

Sarah Bolt added: “Our mission at Forth is simple – to give people a better understanding of their own body using a combination of science and technology. This investment will enable us to launch Female Hormone Mapping and also develop more unique and insightful products to help people engage proactively with their health. Trajan is a perfect partner as we share a focus on using science to advance preventative health while the Development Bank continues to support us as a Welsh-based company that is at the forefront of the femtech market.”