InPress Technologies is a medical device company working toward a solution to postpartum hemorrhage (PPH,) the number one cause of maternal death. Our single-minded focus is to improve radically the treatment path for postpartum hemorrhage from the traumatic, life-altering condition that it is today. With our simple, non-surgical device, we are devoted to improving the lives of women around the world.
InPress Technologies was a company-in-residence at the Fogarty Institute for Innovation (FII,) in Mountain View CA. FII is a catalyst for medical device innovation and provides intellectual and physical resources to early-stage innovators whose ideas have significant technical merit and a high potential of improving the lives of people around the world. In July 2014, InPress was the recipient of the Lefteroff Innovator Award, which directly funds projects for promising new innovators working on pre-screened medical ideas. The Lefteroff Fund was developed to recognize Tracy Lefteroff for his legacy of commitment and dedication to entrepreneurship, investment and innovation in the life sciences.
InPress Technologies traces its history to Cal Poly (California Polytechnic State University) in San Luis Obispo, CA, where two biomedical engineers conceived our innovative approach to postpartum hemorrhage. Over the next couple of years, the team received extensive support from Innovation Quest, the San Luis Obispo HotHouse Accelerator, and the Cal Poly Small Business Development Center. The encouragement of these organizations helped the founders synthesize their idea further, conduct initial analyses, and outline a path to bring the product to market.
Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is excessive bleeding in a mother after childbirth. PPH is the leading cause of perinatal maternal death around the world—it is estimated that one woman dies from PPH every four minutes.
Clinically, 80% of the instances of PPH are caused by the failure of the uterus to contract after childbirth. This condition, known as uterine atony, leaves the blood vessels fully dilated and brings about unobstructed bleeding.
The InPress Postpartum Hemorrhage Intrauterine Device facilitates the body’s natural mechanism for control of postpartum hemorrhage, without pharmaceuticals, hysterectomy, or other invasive surgical procedures. As opposed to merely treating the symptoms of PPH, the InPress Device is designed to stop bleeding by causing uterine collapse with tamponade and stimulating uterine contractions. When the InPress Device is inserted into a uterus after childbirth, its proprietary mechanism is intended to stimulate the body’s natural post-delivery response by causing uterine tamponade and normal postpartum contractions allowing the uterus to return to the right postpartum size.
The InPress Device will work quickly and effectively. It can dramatically reduce the cost of healthcare during childbirth and substantially reduce the risk of loss of life. We foresee the InPress Device becoming a part of the standard procedure for childbirth around the world. Our vision is to make the InPress Device affordable and accessible in developed and developing countries thus helping save the lives of women around the world.
"The InPress technology has the potential to change the way postpartum hemorrhage is treated and save many lives."Suellen Miller, Director of Safe Motherhood Program
"The InPress device is uniquely designed to work in concert with normal uterine mechanisms to prevent or stop PPH."Jan Segnitz, MD, OB/GYN
"Given the physiology of the uterus, the InPressDr. Rebekah Sharp, practicing OB/GYN, Michigan
device is the only approach that makes sense."
Anne Morrissey, CEO, leads team InPress with a focus on building a profitable and sustainable company that will have lasting impact. Anne brings > 20 years of successful early stage experience including co-founding Vivant Medical (Minimally Invasive Lumpectomy) and Ucan Products (Sustainable Consumer Products). Her passion is commercializing products that make a difference. Anne has directed the successful turnaround of core businesses (GSI/TYCO), the creation of new businesses, and fundraising and strategic direction for many startups. She holds several patents.
Kathryn Wine, MPH is the VP of Clinical Operations for InPress.
She is responsible for running clinical trials to support InPress device development, registration and commercialization. For over 17 years Kathryn has managed clinical research in leadership roles.
She has worked in academic settings as well as for large and small medical device companies. She is focused on finding top talent to grow her teams and to develop strong working relationships with clinical partners to successfully develop, enroll and complete the highest quality research projects.
Cindy Domecus, R.A.C. is the Chief Regulatory Advisor to InPress. Cindy has worked in the medical device industry for over 25 years, serving in Regulatory Affairs and Clinical Research executive management positions since 1994. Cindy was the VP of Regulatory Affairs and Clinical Research for Conceptus and Kyphon prior to starting her consulting practice. She was selected by FDA to serve as the Industry Representative to the OB/GYN Devices panel and was also elected to the Board of Directors for the Orthopedic Surgical Manufacturers Association. She holds a Regulatory Affairs Certification for both the US and the EU.
Anne Schmults is the Director of Business Development for InPress Technologies. She brings more than 15 years of medical device experience with leadership roles in sales and marketing, and sales management. Anne has worked with early stage companies, from clinical trials through FDA approval and successful market launches. Anne has also worked for large medical device companies in new product testing and evaluation, and in sales management. Anne is enthusiastic about the domestic and global implications of the InPress device to improve women’s health.
Jessie Becker, Co-Founder,
Board Member and Director of Impact of InPress Technologies, was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 List in Healthcare in 2015 and awarded Cal Poly’s inaugural Green Spotlight Alumni Award in 2018. Becker has raised millions in financing for InPress and is committed to bringing the technology to women around the globe. Jessie was instrumental in reviving the entrepreneurial movement at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, helping to bring the HotHouse, incubator and accelerator to both Cal Poly and the San Luis Obispo business community.
Rich serves InPress as the VP of Quality. He has over 25 years of quality assurance experience in the medical device industry. Prior to joining InPress Technologies, Rich was Vice President of QA/RA and Compliance Officer at Ceterix Orthopaedics and served as Vice President QA/RA at Pulmonx and Emphasys Medical. He also has been employed at Perclose, Spectranetics and USCI (Bard) in various engineering and management positions. He received a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Jan Segnitz MD is the Medical
Advisor for InPress. He is Board Certified in OBGYN. During his 30 years of clinical experience he has served on the clinical faculty at Stanford University, run a private practice of general OBGYN for 28 years in San Jose CA, and served as the Director of hospital based OBGYN services at two San Francisco Bay area hospitals. Dr. Segnitz attended Medical School in his home state at the University of Kentucky. He completed his OBGYN residency at Stanford University.
Sophia Doak is the Clinical Research Coordinator at InPress and is responsible for supporting all clinical research projects. She studied Political Science and Philosophy at the University of Arizona where she was a Research Assistant to a law professor who specialized in International Law and women’s rights. As a Research Assistant, she aided in the development of a non-profit whose goal was to further the health, agency, and education of women and children in Africa. Her personal mission is to improve the lives of women internationally.
Amy is the Lead Engineer at InPress. She has a Masters degree in Biomedical Engineering from Cal Poly, with an emphasis on hemorrhage control. Her experience in the medical device industry provides the necessary functional knowledge for design improvement and validation. Amy is inspired to create innovative technology that has a positive global impact.
Jim Verhulst manages Document Control, training, and assists with Quality Assurance. As a biopharmaceutical engineer with over 35 years of experience in the life sciences, he has developed novel production and software systems and the test protocols required to test and validate them. Jim was drawn to the company because InPress has the potential to save the lives of countless women around the
globe.
Nathan is the Co-Founder, Board Observer and serves as a product development advisor. He is a successful medical device engineer with over 17yrs of experience leading technology innovation, product development, managing transitions to manufacturing, and life-cycle management of life science products. Nathan is driven to greater patient impact, particularly in low-resource settings, through accessibility to innovative medical technology solutions.
Dr Gita Arjun, FACOG, is a clinical adviser. She is a Board-certified OB/GYN. After completing her residency in Evanston, IL, she returned to India to work. In 2013, she retired from active clinical practice after 32 years as the Director and OB/GYN at E.V. Kalyani Medical Centre, Chennai. She has edited two OB/GYN text books, co-authored a third, and authored a best-selling pregnancy book for Indian women. Dr Arjun is now focusing on social impact projects for global maternal and child health.
Phyllis Whiteley, PhD., is an InPress Baord of Directors member. She also is a Venture Partner with a leading V.C. firm where she provides hands-on leadership in building, investing, and creating companies in the digital health space. Phyllis’ career is founded on her passion for personalized medicine, global healthcare, and transformative life science innovations. She has founded and built multiple companies in the United States and abroad.
Fred St.Goar, MD, is an InPress Board of Directors member. Fred is a practicing physician at El Camino Hospital in Mt View. He has been involved in med tech development for 30 years. He was the physician founder of Evalve (a heart valve repair device) and has contributed to the development of many other medical technologies. He serves as the Medical Director of the El Camino Hospital Heart and Vascular Institute and is the Vice Chairman of the Fogarty Institute for Innovation. He actively mentors multiple companies both in and out of the Fogarty Institute. He is very supportive of InPress because he is particularly drawn to projects that have the potential for significant impact on global healthcare.
InPress Technologies is excited to share that the preliminary clinical study results of the InPress device have been successful.
Note: No regulatory approvals or clearances have yet been issued by Regulation Agencies for the InPress device to date.
InPress Technologies has developed the necessary engineering controls to ensure consistent product quality. The InPress quality management system has earned the company this internationally recognized certification.
Winner of the Most Innovative Field-tested Prototype at the Stanford-America India Foundation Symposium on Maternal and Child Health, October 14, 2016
"Control of Postpartum Hemorrhage Using Vacuum-Induced Uterine Tamponade" in Obstetrics & Gynaecology (Green Journal), Global Health: Procedures and Instruments Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc., Vol. 128, No. 1, July 2016
"InPress Technologies: Halting Postpartum Hemorrhage" in Pharma & Medtech Business Intelligence, July 14, 2015
"A Life-Saving Startup" in Cal Poly Business Magazine, July 7, 2015
"InPress Technologies initial study supports device’s treatment for PPH" in Medical Device Daily, April 24, 2015
"SLO-based company develops device to save hemorrhaging mothers' lives" in The Tribune, San Luis Obispo, January 5, 2015