Today we’d like to introduce you to Mehek Bapna & Emi Gacaj
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
This is a story of two Southwest High School graduates setting out to change the world of birth control. We first met during the pandemic to join forces and advocate in congress for a just covid response, black maternal health, and other health equity necessities. Channeling all of the frustration we were feeling at the heartbreaking health disparities that were exacerbated during the pandemic, we engaged our families, friends, and neighbors into mobilizing congresspeople to act for health equity. And through persistent emails, that led to zoom calls, that led to relentless follow-up emailing, and op-eds, and getting more and more people to speak truth to power in the (zoom) halls of congress, we got dozens of congresspeople to cosign legislation to improve health equity! Fast forward, we both went to college in New York. Also, Emi started a national sexual health organization, right out of Southwest, the Body Org. And she became a doula, and sex educator. Mehek continued to fight for health equity at Students for Sexual Respect at NYU, and became a researcher at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago working on creative, culturally-responsive, community-engaged solutions to the adolescent mental health crisis. And then one day (fast forward again), Mehek floated the idea to Emi, of working on a once-weekly, non-steroidal birth control pill that doesn’t affect hormone levels across the body. She knew too many people, not to mention herself, that were struggling with mental and physical side effects and inconveniences with the options available, and she also knew there was a non-steroidal once-weekly contraceptive pill that had been developed in India, with a more targeted mechanism of action that bypassed some of these issues. The puzzle was how to build on that foundation and proof of concept, and make an even better version available in the US, and one day internationally. From the moment Mehek told Emi about this idea, Emi knew she had to be involved, and started working with Mehek that very day on how they would make it happen. We’ve been at it all summer, and just got into the Science Inc. Accelerator to help us continue to make swift and scientifically sound progress on this journey to improve birth control… for our little cousins, ourselves, and everyone else who wishes they had a better option!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely has not been easy all the time, with so much to learn about drug development, regulatory pathways and requirements, and the world of VC funding. Even just self-doubt has been a barrier. While we often hear people ask, “if this was such a good idea, why hasn’t it been done before?” we decided that not fully knowing the answer to that question was not going to stop us from trying to improve things for the next generations. After all, Mehek’s motto is “It’s better to try to do right by people than not try.” We decided to explore the available evidence impartially, employing Annie Duke’s frameworks from her book “Thinking in Bets”, we also surveyed 100 Indian OB-GYNs on their clinical experience with the drug that we want to base our solution off of. As Mehek and Emi explored the world of biotech startups, attending events and watching other companies pitch, they realized they knew they liked a startup if they found themselves thinking “If I had that problem, that’s the solution I would want.” After the months of digging into this possible solution of a once-weekly, non-steroidal birth control pill, Emi and Mehek still have that conviction that they’ll be able to improve women and gender-diverse people’s health through persevering on this idea, and that North Star of positive impact keeps them going.
We’ve been impressed with Manglovo Health, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Manglovo Health is on a mission for women and gender-diverse people to enjoy unencumbered confidence and independence in our bodies. Armed with a more targeted mechanism of action and weekly dosing, our next-gen birth control pill is designed to empower women to engage fiercely and freely in all that we love to do. We’re driven to enable birth control users to exercise their independent agency and access choices that are uniquely right for them, because we all deserve to feel good in our bodies.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Diary of A CEO has been a nice podcast, Mehek has been reading (and liking) “The 10x Rule” by Grant Cardone, of course we mentioned Annie Duke’s book “Thinking in Bets.” We’ve been following the framework found on Ben Meer’s “System Sunday” newsletter called “Unf*ckwithable” where you focus on the three goals (or as we like to call them, facts) that 1) you are constantly surrounded by love, 2) you are constantly learning and growing and 3) that you will always have amazing life experiences. Journaling about how these are true at night, thinking about them or writing them down in the morning, and for Emi and I – sometimes just reminding each other (and other times full-fledged game planning) about how to make them true for ourselves every day is how we roll.
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