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October 30, 2020

Farmington men's fertility startup to test mobile app after raising $2.2M

Eric Olson for UConn Engineering doctoral student Reza Amin presents the QRFertile concept to a panel of judges during the Wolff New Venture Competition.
By Sean Teehan

Farmington-based startup Bastion, which is developing an in-home device to measure male fertility, is preparing to launch an app for beta testing in November, after raising $2.2 million earlier this month.

Bastion, which CEO Reza Amin co-founded in 2018, focuses on male reproductive health, and connecting men with infertility specialists. 

"When it comes to reproductive health, a lot of burden is put on women," Amin said. "But [fertility issues] are a 50/50 split."

Bastion has two elements to its business: diagnostic and telehealth. On the diagnostic side, it makes an in-home male fertility test kit called QRfertile. On the telehealth side, Bastion is developing an app into which customers can input those test results and receive health recommendations and doctor referrals.

Amin, who holds a Ph.D. in medical engineering and medical diagnostic system design from the University of Connecticut, said the majority of $2.2 million came from the Werth Family Investment Associates, with additional funds from Connecticut Innovations, CT Next, Bio Pipeline CT and UConn. The company operates out of the UConn Technology Incubation Program (TIP) in Farmington.

The test kit is currently going through clinical trials for FDA approval, said Amin, who thinks it will go to market in about 18 months. 

Bastion plans to begin testing the mobile app in a yet-to-be-determined geographical area beginning Nov. 19 (International Men's Day), Amin said. 

While the COVID-19 pandemic initially slowed down some lab testing on the kit, it actually led Bastion to fast-track the mobile app for testing, since Amin anticipated a possible greater demand, as people might avoid health clinics for fear of contracting the virus.

"Everything is sped up in the pandemic, so we can address the need the pandemic has created," Amin said "There's a need to have a technology so we can connect patients and doctors for men's reproductive health."
 

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