Heating pad? Check. Ibuprofen? Check. CBD-infused tampon? Women and people assigned female at birth (AFAB) can now check that off their menstrual first-aid kit, as Daye, a UK-based gynecological startup, lands in the US.
Daye, a woman-founded company, rolled out its suite of services and products to US consumers this fall in the hopes of bringing pain relief to more people, founder Valentina Milanova said at a press event in Brooklyn on September 20.
“When it comes to healthcare for the female body, the system is broken and rife with historical gender biases,” Milanova said in a statement. “At Daye, we strive to not only bring awareness to the significant health gap that exists in medical research and innovation, but also close it by creating gynecological products that solve issues that directly impact the health of women and AFAB individuals.”
About 84% of college-aged women report pain during their menstruation, with 43.1% of those patients saying they experience that pain during every cycle, according to 2012 research published in the Journal of Pain Research.
Daye offers CBD-infused tampons, which it touts as the world’s first of its kind, and FDA-cleared Nude Tampon, which undergo gamma ray sanitization to reduce the risk of vaginal infections and toxic shock syndrome.
Consumers in the US will also have access to Daye’s diagnostic tampon, an at-home test to detect vaginal infections that’s “more effective than using a swab to obtain a sample,” according to the company.
“Additionally, the company is in the early stages of discussions with healthcare providers, including ob-gyns, to explore the possibility of offering its diagnostic tampon for at-home vaginal health screening as an alternative to in-office pap smears,” according to Milanova.
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Daye aims to expand the diagnostic tampon’s use to test for sexually transmitted infections and human papillomavirus (HPV) in early 2024. The product costs $199 alone or $265 with a telehealth consultation.
Beyond the consumer products, Daye is also set to roll out its virtual period pain clinic aimed at helping “women and AFAB individuals identify the root cause of their period pain and receive a faster diagnosis of conditions such as endometriosis, adenomyosis, and other conditions associated with chronic pelvic pain.”
The service, which the company started this summer in the UK, assesses a patient’s symptoms and creates a personalized pain management plan that combine “the best treatments available in both pharmacology and holistic medicine,” according to Daye.
Patients can then consult with “a range of specialists, including sexual health nurses, gynecologists, pelvic pain and fertility specialists,” and other experts. Patients may also receive recommendations for evidence-based symptom management tools such as pelvic floor trainers and hormonal contraception.
A partial report with insights costs $34.99, while the full report with a 30-minute nurse consultation to go over the results is priced at $79.99, according to Daye.
The company is “actively exploring various avenues to enhance accessibility, including options for individuals covered by Medicaid and college students,” Milanova said.
Daye has raised nearly $24 million in Series A funding from global venture capital firms like Hambro Perks, MassMutual Ventures, and Cross-Border Impact Ventures since its inception in 2018. The company also participates in clinical trials.