Cirqle BioMedical

Frederik Petursson Madsen is the CEO and Co-founder of Cirqle BioMedical, inventor of the hormone-free contraceptive 'Oui'.

With an M.Sc in Management of Innovation and Business Development from CBS and several years of experience in the Medtech industry, it was not until Fredrik discussed the state of contraceptives with his girlfriend that he realized the magnitude of the problem and the lack of non-hormonal alternatives.

What is the Challenge?

The hormonal pill was introduced about 60 years ago, and since then, has become an industry standard for female contraception. Unfortunately, its systemic hormonal approach has burdened many with side effects and compromised efficiency. When Fredrik and his team started researching what products that were currently under development they found that the pharmaceutical companies that sell birth control had stopped research into new technologies years ago.

What is the Solution?

The product is a new contraceptive method for women produced by Cirqle Biomedical. It is unique since it does not contain any hormones and can be used on demand by women. The innovation consists of a vaginal capsule that dissolves to strengthen cervical mucus to stop sperm cells from entering. The Oui capsule goes to work after only a few minutes and its effects last for hours. The company’s founders asked themselves what an ideal contraceptive would look like for women and then set about making it a reality. It enables women to have control of contraception, it can be used easily whenever necessary, and does not lead to serious hormonal side-effects. This means that women can have even more freedom in their sexual health decisions, while the product still, however, does not protect against transmittable diseases.

The Oui capsule could create a new natural for women during intercourse. Its simplicity and ease of use makes it truly revolutionary for billions of women around the world. The Oui capsule is pushing forward gender equality, letting women become an equal decision-maker in the bedroom.

The Oui capsule was recently recognized by The Index Project as one of the winners of the Index Awards 2021, the "Nobel prize" for people using design to improve the world.

What EQT Foundation loves about Oui

To begin with, we love the name and the fact that the idea started from a conversation together in a couple as a "we" tackling a common challenge, rather than the separation of female issues from the general debate of wider issues in society.

Inclusion to us, goes way beyond the different market offerings to gender-specific purchasing groups, but Oui is a great example showcasing that we know little about the lack of market offering to others than ourselves. Making our biases conscious is not only important for noticing discriminating behaviors, but also discriminating R&D budgets.

Many might suggest that the problem in the contraceptive industry has been that it has been men designing a product for women and that since they are not part of the consumer group using the product, they have not focused enough on reducing the negative side effects. At EQT Foundation we love that the founder of Oui is male and that he has recruited a strong female to his management team. It shows that empathy goes a long way for designing great products for people who are different than yourself, and that female issues are not reserved for female founders.