Best Shot, a fertility medication management and small group therapy platform, and The Fertility Tribe, an online fertility community in the U.S., have announced the launch of Rescripted, a merger between the two brands. The new direct-to-consumer business applies the technology-enabled care platform developed by Best Shot to The Fertility Tribe’s existing community and digital publishing platform, delivering seamless tools and resources to fertility patients.
The launch of the newly formed brand is preceded by the close of an oversubscribed $1.65M financing. Solely backed by passionate angel investors seeking to fund a sustainable business solving real problems, over 40% of the company’s supporters have experienced IVF first-hand and nearly half of the capital raise is funded by women. This commitment by investors underscores the increasing recognition of how millions of Americans are building their families in 2021.
Rescripted aims to deliver holistic care for fertility patients through a technology-enabled platform, providing members with a vibrant and supportive community, a trusted content library, and intuitive medication management tools. The company intends to launch medication fulfillment services, small group therapy, and a product marketplace later this year. The recent funding will support development of these upcoming offerings, which are currently underway, and grow the team to keep pace with the expanding business. Rescripted’s web-based application is free for users.
Rescripted Co-Founder & CEO Abby Mercado miscarried after an error in administering an IVF medication. The former venture capital investor and mom of IVF twins became determined to address gaps in fertility patient care, particularly regarding medication management, to help others avoid making mistakes that could be similarly detrimental to their treatment outcome. Mercado formed Best Shot in 2020. Taking a patient-first approach to fertility treatment, Best Shot focused initially on medication management, then launched a small group therapy component last spring when clinics temporarily closed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Our team spent the last year focusing efforts on developing a product that we tested in trials with major fertility clinics, providing hundreds of IVF patients with medication management tools and resources,” said Mercado. “However, our medication management and small group therapy offerings felt incomplete on their own without having the robust community and powerful content that Kristyn cultivated with The Fertility Tribe. Joining forces to create Rescripted is, without question, the most impactful way to reach the patients who feel left behind by our healthcare system.”
In the midst of rolling out a medication management mobile app for patients, running trials, and securing commercial contracts with fertility clinics, Mercado met fellow fertility entrepreneur Kristyn Hodgdon of The Fertility Tribe on an Instagram Live and a fast friendship blossomed. Mercado and Hodgdon, both moms to boy/girl IVF twins, share a passion for empowering fertility patients and bridging major gaps in the patient experience. Recognizing their common goals and what each founder had accomplished separately, they quickly realized how complementary each business was to the other and what could be achieved by joining forces to ‘rescript’ a currently broken fertility patient experience.
“Three years ago, I created The Fertility Tribe to help inspire others and find the personal connections I so deeply craved as I sat in the fertility clinic waiting room beginning my own journey. Today, after countless visits to that waiting room and more injections than I can count, The Fertility Tribe has grown into a community of nearly 90K members and helped millions struggling with infertility or pregnancy loss feel seen, heard, and loved,” said Hodgdon, Rescripted Co-Founder & Chief Community Officer. “By partnering with Abby and combining our businesses, we can accomplish so much more together than we could alone — educating and empowering the tens of millions of patients who receive fertility treatment in the U.S.”
