On November 10, 2026, Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Nanopath announced it had closed a $25 million Series B, which includes $2 million in non-dilutive grant financing. The round was co-led by Norwest and SV Health Investors' MedTech Convergence Fund, with strategic participation from the Labcorp Venture Fund and further participation from Elderberry Ventures, GingerBread Capital and Alumni Ventures. Catherine Kiani (managing partner, Elderberry Ventures) and Mindy Nye (VP, Labcorp Diagnostics) join Nanopath's board as observers. Founded in 2020 and based at The Engine, MIT's tough-tech facility, the company says it has now raised more than $46 million.

Why It Matters

Vaginitis, whether bacterial vaginosis, yeast or trichomoniasis, is among the most common reasons for gynecologic visits, and it is still often diagnosed by symptoms and a microscope, which leads to misdiagnosis, repeat visits and empirical treatment. A cheap, fast molecular test at the point of care is the infrastructure layer that the many vaginal-health, pH and microbiome brands in sexual wellness don't have. Labcorp's strategic participation matters: the largest US reference lab is backing a technology that could move some testing out of its own labs. For investors, the round is another sign that capital in women's health is shifting toward **diagnostics with a reimbursement path** and away from DTC consumer products. The long timeline matters too. A 510(k) study starting in 2028 means commercial launch is years away, and expansion to STIs is what would make the platform significant in sexual health.

Nanopath's platform uses plasmonic biosensing, an optical method the company says detects molecular targets without nucleic-acid amplification, the step that PCR tests depend on. Its first product is a 15-minute point-of-care vaginitis assay, designed to give a molecular-quality result during the same clinic visit instead of after a sample is sent to an outside lab. The new money funds manufacturing scale-up, the start of an FDA 510(k) clinical study, and hiring in clinical and commercial roles ahead of a planned launch. Femtech Insider reports the 510(k) study is planned for 2028 and will enrol about 1,500 patients across 10–15 sites. Nanopath also plans to apply the platform to STIs and UTIs, and its newsroom lists a separate FDA Breakthrough Device designation for its UTI platform. The vaginitis test has not been cleared or approved by the FDA.

Co-CEO Alison Burklund said the team had spent years "pressure-testing a fundamentally new approach to molecular diagnostics for patients who have been overlooked for far too long." Norwest senior managing partner Jeff Crowe called it technology "with the potential to reshape the molecular diagnostics industry."

Sources

Update — 2026-11-11

Initial entry — story first created.