Meet Gabbi: the app that save lives through early detection and community

Why We Invested?

Despite breast cancer having a strong awareness among the general population and massive research funding, the traditional breast cancer screening often leaves out young women. Out of all breast cancer diagnoses in the US, 9% of them are from women under 45. Despite this small percentage of overall diagnoses, when younger women are diagnosed 85% are diagnosed at later stages. Later stage diagnoses result in a higher number of deaths, higher levels of intense and invasive treatments, and higher patient and payer costs. Resources for women under 45 are limited and vague - the CDC consolidated recommendations for women do not include women under 45. The standard breast cancer risk screening tools are not validated for women under 35 and have low predictive values compared to Gabbi’s GRAM model.

What differentiates them in the market relative to competitors?

Gabbi’s GRAM model is bringing accuracy and inclusivity to the world of breast cancer screening tools. During GRAM’s early testing periods and validation period, Gabbi’s model is proving to be better at understanding the differences between positive and negative cases, with a .81 AUC. It is capable of predicting negative outcomes and at par at predicting positive cases than all models on the market at this time. Unlike many competitors, GRAM’s model was trained with data from women from different ethnicities, and different ethnicities thus is validated for women over 18 and any race. Gabbi’s GRAM model can reach these levels of accuracy because unlike competitors, it uses machine learning to continuously learn, and will become increasingly accurate with additional data and training sessions.

In addition to its GRAM model, Gabbi is bringing agency to the patient. Through Gabbi’s app, with an easy to follow user interface and user experience, consumers will have recommendations based on their risk level and a community to support them through their journey. Unlike many other breast “checking” apps, Gabbi’s risk model and recommendations are rooted in validated models, physicians advice, and supportive community members.

Gabbi’s Team

The founder Kaitlin Christine built Gabbi out of her own personal experience with breast cancer. Both Kaitlin’s mother, and Kaitlin, at age 22, were diagnosed with breast cancer. Her passion for providing solutions for young women’s breast cancer is complemented by her background in non-profits, women healthcare business development and e-commerce. Kaitlin has brought on key hires that both share in her passion but bring unique skill sets towards creating Gabbi. Ashmitha Rajendran, Gabbi’s head of data science, is currently pursuing her PhD in bioinformatics and medical education, and has extensive experience working in medical labs. Together, the team has the skills, experience, and passion towards building a product that will save lives through data and early detection.

Current Company Highlights

Gabbi has stayed busy in the past few months getting the Gabbi app and GRAM model into the hands of more women. The GRAM model launched its beta at The Lanby, a primary care concierge clinic in New York. Throughout 2022, Gabbi will onboard additional concierge clinics that will be utilizing the Gabbi app. Gabbi will soon publish a peer-reviewed paper on the findings of their GRAM model.

How the company is advancing the conversation around breast cancer?

For years, the rhetoric in popular media and social circles stood that only women 50+ got breast cancer. While the majority of breast cancer diagnoses in the US are given to women ages 50+, there are many young women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer and at later stages. Gabbi is bringing younger women of all ethnicities an option to understand their risk. Unlike physician led risk assessments, Gabbi is putting an assessment, recommendations, and a supportive community into the hands of women across the US.

Going forward: Vision of the Company

While Gabbi started with tackling breast cancer risk, the team envisions expanding Gabbi both within breast cancer care and across the cancer spectrum. The team hopes to expand further into the breast cancer landscape by providing more opportunities for women to seek and find care. The team also wants to expand their GRAM model into other cancer verticals, and expand the number of women and individuals who can understand their cancer risk.