Kalia Health

What Kalia Health does

Kalia Health is a U.S. biotechnology startup developing a home-based urine diagnostic test, branded Kal-PDx, for the early detection of preeclampsia during pregnancy. The company was founded in 2017 by Denali Dahl and Happy Ghosh, originally as a Duke University-Makerere University collaborative project under the name MoyoMedical Technologies; it was later rebranded to Kalia Health and is headquartered in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with prototype development supported through Biomedomics in Research Triangle Park. The product is designed as a self-screening tool used by pregnant individuals at home, similar to a pregnancy test, with intended usage of approximately ten tests per pregnancy (roughly monthly).

Name

Kalia Health

Legal name

Kalia Health, Inc.

Website

https://kaliahealth.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Kalia Health develops Kal-PDx, a home-based urine test strip detecting activin A and inhibin A biomarkers for early preeclampsia screening, targeting pregnant individuals in U.S. low-resource settings and globally, particularly East Africa.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Maternal Health Diagnostics

NAICS

In-Vitro Diagnostic Substance Manufacturing (325413)

SIC

In Vitro & In Vivo Diagnostic Substances (2835)

akta.pro primary industry

Pregnancy, Fertility & Women’s Health Rapid Tests (hCG, ovulation, vaginal infection) (HLAHAOAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Genetic, Cytogenetic & Prenatal Screening IVD (HLAHAAAI), Prenatal, Newborn & Reproductive Diagnostics (NIPT, IVF/PGT, newborn screening) (HLAAALAJ)

Keywords

• Maternal health diagnostics
• Preeclampsia detection
• Home diagnostic tests
• Point-of-care diagnostics
• Pregnancy health monitoring

Headquarters

HQ city

Chapel Hill

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Diagnostic Test Strips: Kalia Health is developing a point-of-care diagnostic test for preeclampsia. As a pre-revenue, pre-regulatory-approval biotechnology company, revenue generation has not yet begun. The company plans to commercialize its home-based urine test strip product once development is complete and regulatory approvals are obtained.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Kalia Health is developing the Kal-PDx, a home-based urine test strip for early detection of preeclampsia during pregnancy. The test detects elevated urinary biomarkers (activin A and inhibin A) — similar in form factor to a home pregnancy test — and is intended to be used roughly once per month (about 10 times per pregnancy) for self-screening by pregnant individuals. The product is in final development stages and has not yet received FDA approval.

Product overview

Kalia Health offers a single unified product—the Kal-PDx home-based urine test strip for early detection of preeclampsia. This diagnostic device detects elevated protein levels in urine through urinary biomarkers (activin A and inhibin A), functioning similarly to a home pregnancy test. Pregnant individuals would take the test approximately once per month (10x per pregnancy) to self-screen for preeclampsia so they know when to seek medical care. The company is currently in the final stages of product development and has not yet received FDA approval.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Kal-PDx Home-Based Urine Test A urine-based point-of-care diagnostic test strip for early detection of preeclampsia during pregnancy. The test detects elevated levels of urinary biomarkers (activin A and inhibin A) — signaling potential kidney dysfunction associated with preeclampsia — and functions like a home pregnancy test. Designed to be used approximately once per month (about 10 times per pregnancy) by pregnant individuals for at-home self-screening.

Quantifiable outcome

• Potential to prevent 76,000 maternal and 500,000 fetal and neonatal deaths each year globally attributed to preeclampsia and eclampsia
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• BiomedomicscoreTechnology or IntegrationCollaboration with Biomedomics, a biotechnology company in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, for the development of the test strip prototype. This partnership leverages Biomedomics' expertise in point-of-care diagnostics.
• Duke UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing partnership with Duke University including the Global Health Institute and Pratt School of Engineering. The company originated from a transcontinental engineering design course at Duke. Denali Dahl completed her master's at Duke Global Health Institute.
• Makerere UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, for clinical study development and biomarker validation. Joint venture began as a class project in transcontinental engineering design course, with undergraduate biomedical engineering students Brian Matovu and Zoe Sekyonda.
• Mulago National Referral HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlanned clinical study at Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala, Uganda. The study will help quantify biomarkers to determine cutoff values between normal and preeclamptic pregnancies and determine sensitivity and specificity.
• IndieBiomajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSelected for IndieBio accelerator program, ranked #1 in Early Stage Biotechnology. The program offers opportunities to partner with global investors, as well as networking and mentoring opportunities.
• VentureWellmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSelected for VentureWell E-Team Stage 2 program including $20,000 grant, Propel training workshop to develop business model and establish IP portfolio, and coaching program. First place in Audience Choice Awards at OPENminds 2022.
• Launch Chapel HillmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSelected for Launch Chapel Hill accelerator program, an international award-winning startup accelerator providing a 22-week program designed to increase growth potential of high-impact startups.
• HalcyonmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSelected for Halcyon Fall Incubator Cohort, a social impact fellowship focusing on providing entrepreneurs and innovators with tools and resources to make global impact. Program includes 5-month residential period in Washington DC followed by 13-month non-residential incubation.
• MassMEDICmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSelected for MassMEDIC IGNITE Cohort, receiving mentorship, training, and networking opportunities. Won in-kind services from Agile Search as IGNITE Accelerator Winner.
• Chloe CapitalmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerSelected for Chloe Capital Fellowship, supporting founders building breakthrough solutions for pregnancy complications. Founders present their innovation to potential investors and partners.
• Clinton FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInvited to present Commitment to Action at Clinton Global Initiative University 2017 at Northeastern University. Presented poster on EPED strip focusing on improving maternal health through home-based early detection.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Atossa Therapeutics: Clinical-stage women's health company developing diagnostics and therapeutics for breast health and other women's conditions. Comparable to Kalia as a small-cap women's-health-focused development-stage company, providing a public-market comparable for valuation, partnership, and exit dynamics.
• Mahmee: Maternal and infant health platform focused on reducing maternal mortality and improving outcomes, particularly for people of color. Highly comparable to Kalia in mission, target population, and emphasis on low-resource and high-disparity settings, providing a useful adjacency for partnership, channel, or impact-investor comparability.
• Bloomlife: Maternal health technology company developing connected devices for pregnancy monitoring (e.g., contraction and fetal monitoring). Comparable to Kalia as an emerging digital/connected maternal health startup targeting the same pregnant-person end user, useful as a parallel GTM and direct-to-consumer comparable.

Broad incumbents

• Sema4 (now GeneDx): Genomic and reproductive health diagnostics company offering women's health and prenatal testing services. Comparable to Kalia as a women's/prenatal diagnostics player with established lab and channel infrastructure that an at-home preeclampsia strip could complement or compete with.
• Myriad Genetics: Established genetic testing company with prenatal and women's health products. Comparable as a scaled diagnostic platform player in reproductive health, providing a strategic-acquirer comparable and a benchmark for clinical evidence requirements in the category.
• Church & Dwight (First Response): Owner of the First Response home pregnancy test brand, the dominant over-the-counter pregnancy/fertility rapid test franchise. Directly comparable to Kalia in channel and use case (home-based, self-administered women's health test strips), and represents the primary consumer-retail competitive benchmark for a successful home launch of Kal-PDx.
• Labcorp: Major clinical laboratory network with a substantial women's health and prenatal diagnostics franchise. Comparable to Kalia as the dominant incumbent channel through which any lab-confirmed or reflex preeclampsia testing is performed, and a potential distribution / strategic-partner counterparty for at-home screening.
• QuidelOrtho: Major diagnostics company with a broad portfolio of point-of-care rapid tests including pregnancy and women's health tests. Comparable to Kalia as a scaled POC diagnostics incumbent that could either compete with or acquire a home-based preeclampsia test, and serves as the most relevant exit/strategic-partner archetype.

Direct peers

• Progenity: Prenatal molecular diagnostics company that has developed and commercialized non-invasive prenatal tests. Comparable to Kalia as a peer in the prenatal diagnostics category; serves as a cautionary comparable given its commercial struggles, and a reference point for pricing, reimbursement, and OB channel strategy.
• Natera: Commercial genetic testing company with a strong prenatal and reproductive health franchise (e.g., Panorama NIPT). Comparable to Kalia as a molecular prenatal diagnostics company addressing pregnancy complications, and a relevant model for clinical evidence generation, payer reimbursement, and OB/GYN channel development.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kalia-health
• Xx.com/KaliaHealth
• Facebookfacebook.com/KaliaHealth

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kalia Health