SoLa Therapy

SoLá Therapy is offering convertible SAFE notes at a $19.5 million valuation cap with 5% to 15% discounts depending on the size of investment. That’s a decent price, largely due to the extent of SoLá’s proprietary intellectual property. The company’s existing patents prohibit a competitor from commercializing a transvaginal or transrectal light therapy device, making SoLá’s technology inherently more valuable. The company has also seen decent traction since treatments began in late 2019, with more than 2,500 procedures performed. Therefore, SoLá’s price rating is relatively high.

Physicians indicate that anywhere from 4% to 16% of women suffer from chronic pelvic pain. In the US, that amounts to somewhere between 7 million and 27 million women (based on the population of 169 million women in the US.). Using the more conservative 7 million estimate and the low end of patient cost for SoLá treatment ($1,500 per SoLá), SoLá Therapy’s theoretical market opportunity is greater than $10 billion. But that’s a very unrealistic market estimate that assumes that almost all chronic pelvic pain patients seek treatment (many do not) and that SoLá Therapy could come to own 100% of the chronic pelvic pain therapy market. SoLá is much more likely to serve a very small percentage of chronic pelvic pain patients for an obtainable market size of a few hundred million or less. In addition, the chronic pelvic pain treatment market isn’t growing rapidly. Endometriosis is one of several causes of chronic pelvic pain, but the compound annual growth rate for that treatment market is only 2.8%. The rate of pelvic disorders also isn’t growing rapidly. In fact, pelvic disorders may become less and less common as medicine continues to advance. 

All in all, SoLá Therapy is addressing a mid-sized market. A large number of women are potentially eligible for SoLá’s treatment. However, the company will likely only reach a small portion of them, and the total market size isn’t growing much. That’s why the company’s market rating is middle-of-the-road.

SoLá Therapy is led by a team of experienced doctors and businesspeople. CEO Dr. Ralph Zipper is a urologist with an MD in obstetrics and gynecology from Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He worked in urogynecology and pelvic reconstructive surgery for eight years before moving into healthcare entrepreneurship, previously serving as the CEO of BioFuse Medical Technologies. 

SoLá’s president is Dr. Barbara Levy, who has impressive credentials as the former vice president of Health Policy for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). Before her role at ACOG, Levy owned a private practice for almost 20 years. She holds an MD from UC San Diego and a BA from Princeton.

Kevin Richardson, COO, and Dr. Georgine Lamvu, chief science officer, round out SoLá’s executive team. Richardson holds an MBA from The University of Texas at Arlington and has more than 20 years of experience in sales, marketing, and operations for healthcare companies. He previously served as the CEO of the Americas for Sirtex Medical Limited. Lamvu is a practicing OB/GYN at the Orlando VA Healthcare Center and is also a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Central Florida. She earned her MD at Duke. 

SoLá’s team is deeply experienced and very well-credentialed within the fields of urology, obstetrics, and gynecology. However, three of the four officers (Zipper, Levy, and Lamvu) only work part-time for SoLá and are pursuing a wide variety of other ventures. It’s also worth noting that two of the four seem to have only joined the SoLá team in the last year or so, at least per LinkedIn. However, given the team’s strong credibility, SoLá receives a high team score.

It’s difficult to form a complete picture of SoLá Therapy’s differentiation from other treatments, given the scientific expertise required to compare complex medical interventions. SoLá also doesn’t provide a great deal of hard data on the effectiveness of its method. 

However, SoLá Therapy does seem to offer a proprietary form of treatment that is different, and potentially better, than the existing range of options available. Prescription drugs are expensive, as is physical therapy. SoLá also notes that drugs can cause undesirable side effects and physical therapy can be painful, both downsides that are eliminated with the SoLá method. 

SoLá Therapy isn’t the only non-invasive laser treatment company for chronic pelvic pain, though. Many practitioners offer low-level laser therapy, a method that has been proven for decades. Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound is another common treatment for chronic pelvic pain. There are several existing companies providing these technologies to doctors’ offices nationwide, so SoLá Therapy is not a revolutionary medical advancement. 

SoLá Therapy does seem to offer a new and potentially more effective method of treatment for chronic pelvic pain. Existing solutions like medication and physical therapy seem to have more unpleasant side effects than SoLá, which is a strong differentiator. However, there are other non-invasive solutions with minimal side effects. In sum, SoLá Therapy’s differentiation rating is average.

SoLá Therapy was founded in 2010, but it took the company nine years to work through patenting, clinical trials, and manufacturing. SoLá Therapy officially went to market in late 2019. That year, the company generated just $17,697 in revenue. In 2020, results were much stronger with $278,132 in revenue. The company burned a lot more cash than it made, though, posting a net loss of almost $1.4 million. Prospective investors should also note that SoLá is carrying over $2.3 million in short-term debt, which is a big risk while revenues are still low. 

In terms of distribution, SoLá Therapy is only partnered with a handful of doctors’ offices — seven as of the end of 2020. Those providers performed roughly 300 treatments per quarter last year. Since launch, SoLá Therapy has been administered roughly 2,500 times. 

SoLá Therapy’s performance metrics aren’t extremely impressive yet. While revenue grew significantly between 2019 and 2020, overall revenue is still low, and only a few doctors are actively providing SoLá Therapy. That’s why SoLá’s performance rating is its lowest.

SoLá Therapy is a relatively risky investment, as is any emerging medical device startup. Lack of funding is the largest source of risk at this time. The company has barely raised any money to date, and with $2.3 million in short-term debt, it’s going to need capital soon. Those debts, combined with low revenues, are a source of financial risk. There’s also legal risk, given the complex nature of FDA approvals and medical insurance. Finally, SoLá’s team is only partially committed, which is a concerning signal at this early stage.

SoLá Therapy offers a non-invasive medical treatment that has the potential to provide a real solution for  chronic pelvic pain. However, it’s difficult for those without medical training to truly assess SoLá’s potential to expand within this market, given the crowded landscape of existing chronic pelvic pain treatment options. 

Much easier to understand are SoLá’s key business metrics, and those aren’t the strongest. The company has been in business for more than 10 years, but 2020 was the first year it generated meaningful revenue. SoLá is carrying $2.3 million in short-term debt, which seems very risky at this stage, given its low revenue and lack of funding history. Plus, there’s no proof that SoLá is taking off in terms of doctor adoption. Only seven providers were using SoLá at the end of last year, which raises serious questions about SoLá’s potential to expand. 

With all of these signals, plus the fact that medical device investments are inherently risky given the legal hurdles that therapeutic companies face, SoLá Therapy may not be a good opportunity for prospective investors.

From the little evidence provided, SoLá Therapy does seem to have developed a relatively innovative, effective method for treating chronic pelvic pain. Patients are seeking a treatment that minimizes side effects and can achieve results quickly, and SoLá seems to be a good fit. 

SoLá also seems to make sense for doctors’ offices. The company uses a cash-pay business model where physicians essentially rent SoLá technology under a 36-month, $700 per-month subscription contract. For each patient treated, physicians’ credit cards are charged for the disposable laser wands used. With that model, physicians stand to make a profit on SoLá quickly without having to invest large sums of money upfront to buy expensive equipment. 

If SoLá Therapy can continue to grow revenue in 2021, there’s a chance that the company can generate enough cash to pay down debt, increase distribution, and shift toward long-term growth that could build value for investors.

SoLá Therapy is a medical device company offering a non-surgical laser therapy treatment for chronic pelvic pain patients. The SoLá treatment is quicker and less painful than many existing options, and the company has proven with years of clinical trials and patents that its technology is unique and effective. 

On the other hand, SoLá hasn’t gotten much traction during its 10 years in business. The company is shouldering $2.3 million in short-term debt. And the SoLá team is mostly part-time, which is risky for a company with significant regulatory hurdles to navigate. Therefore, SoLá Therapy has been rated a Neutral Deal. 

For questions regarding the KingsCrowd staff pick or ratings for this company, please reach out to support@kingscrowd.com.