A local health care startup that works primarily to prevent sexual violence and aid those who are victims of it is setting its sights on collaborating with the Pittsburgh-based 911th Airlift Wing following a recent contract from the U.S. Air Force's technology startup accelerator AFWERX.
Leda Health, which relocated its headquarters from Brooklyn, New York, to Lawrenceville last October, announced that its Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I contract from AFWERX led to a partnership with the forensic science department at Curry College, a liberal arts school outside of Boston. As part of those efforts, Leda said it focused on sexual assault prevention, education and the ability to break cycles of violence in the context of addressing these challenges within the Air Force.
Now, Leda Co-Founder and CEO Madison Campbell said the Pittsburgh International Airport-based 911th Airlift Wing could stand to benefit by collaborating with the local startup given the latter's resources and tools.
"Knowing that there are direct local benefits is important to me," Campbell, a Pittsburgh native, said in a prepared statement. "Leda is equally committed to contributing to the Pittsburgh community and its surroundings as much as possible."
Leda employs half a dozen workers out of about 1,000 square feet of space above a Millie's Homemade ice cream shop on Butler Street.
The startup, which has raised over $9.4 million in funding thus far, works to provide various forms of sexual assault prevention, care and reporting in a setting that's much more welcoming than the typical emergency room — where such matters are usually handled — in addition to its digital health services platform. Leda also offers patients access to early sexual assault evidence kits, sexually transmitted infection testing, emergency contraception, video and live chat support via a mobile app and a care team that's staffed every hour of every day.
