Austrian startup Diamens has closed a funding round to accelerate clinical validation and European certification of a molecular diagnostic test for endometriosis using menstrual blood. The round was led by eQventure with participation from VP Venture Partners, FS Life Science Investment, and VGW Beteiligungs GmbH. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The approach is straightforward: Patients collect a menstrual blood sample at home, which is then analyzed in a laboratory using PCR. The company’s bioinformatics pipeline identified molecular markers for endometriosis that were subsequently validated in menstrual blood samples.
“Menstrual blood is a molecular fingerprint of the uterus – yet its diagnostic potential has been completely overlooked in modern diagnostics,” said co-founder and COO Clara Ganhör.
Diamens joins a growing field of companies racing to develop non-invasive endometriosis diagnostics – including HerAnova, whose blood-based HerResolve test recently published validation data in the Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology. The unmet need is well-established: Endometriosis affects an estimated 190 million women worldwide, the average diagnostic delay remains around seven years, and the current gold standard – laparoscopy under general anesthesia – is invasive, costly, and something many women hesitate to undergo.
The funding, combined with public grants from the Austrian FFG Basisprogramm, will support a multicenter clinical study and European certification. “In our ongoing multicenter study, we’re already seeing consistent positive feedback around sample collection and shipping,” said CEO and co-founder Marlene Rezk-Füreder. “The time has come to make women’s health radically accessible and data-driven.”
Diamens was founded in 2024 in Linz (Austria) by Rezk-Füreder, Eva Scharnagl (CTO), Ganhör, and Angelika Lackner (CSO), with Univ.-Prof. Dr. Peter Oppelt, a leading European endometriosis expert, as clinical lead.
