3Daughters Innovation

We are focused on women’s health innovation, and
we are doing something atbout it.
IUD Breaking from inside light bulb
Our IUD is simple, smart and sophisticated, based on physics and geometry. This unique frameless nonhormonal IUD is designed to conform to a woman’s body and improve upon the outdated T-shape frame to address the significant insertion pain and ‘fear factor’ that prevents many women from getting one of the most effective forms of birth control.

The three small elliptical magnetic shapes of our IUD are inserted individually and self-assembled into a stable triangle that floats gently in the uterus. Our Glider for insertion is far less painful and a simple magnetic retriever completes the cycle – no strings needed.

Dr. Carlos Gradil, a world renown veterinary reproductive specialist designed this frameless magnetic intrauterine device for horses. He understood the need for birth control In horses, especially for performance horses In competitions. Like the early Middle East traders inserting pebbles into their camels, fort years glass marbles were placed in the uterus of mares for just that purpose. However, in some cases the glass ball was spontaneously expelled, and many mares did not conceive subsequentto glass ball removal. Complications were also reported including glass shards adhering to the endometrium.

Dr. Carlos Gradil 3Daughters Inventor Veterinary reproductive specialist UMass Equine Program iUPOD frameless magnetic intrauterine device magnetic IUD

Dr. Gradil devised the initial frameless magnetic IUD sized for horses as a self-assembling intrauterine device (iUpod) consisting of three elliptically shaped units each with a magnetic core. He demonstrated that the iUpod when inserted into mares prevented pregnancy, was retained in the uterus, with normal pre/post endometrlal architecture, and 100% of the mares bred successfully in the following season.

With this data in hand along with the established effectiveness of copper as a spermicide, 3Daughters approached the FDA and received feedback on our clinical development program. We are now preparing an IND (Investigational New Drug Application) to file with the FDA and begin our clinical testing in women.

We are just beginning to develop the potential of our unique technology and will be exploring other conditions, such as fibroids and abnormal bleeding, that could benefit from targeted therapy to the uterus.


The 3Daughters technology of three elliptically shaped units carrying active pharmaceutical agents to the uterus provides an opportunity to deliver copper, a proven spermicide, to the middle of the uterus. Unlike the outdated T-shape frame which needs to go to the top of the uterus (fundus) for accurate placement between the fallopian tubes, the 3Daughters self-assembling stable triangular shape need only be inserted past the cervix into the middle of the uterus. This more flexible placement eliminates the need for sounding which is used to measure the length of the uterus for accurate placement of the T-shape frame. Anything touching the top of the uterus (for example, a metal sounding device or the T-shape frame itself) represents pain points for patents. With the 3Daughters magnetic elliptical system, at least two pain points will be eliminated during the IUD insertion procedure. Our advanced Glider for insertion is designed for a woman’s anatomy and with more flexibility than the other applicators that are currently available. This will also pave the way for the 3Daughters delivery system to treat other conditions occurring in the uterus, including fibroids and abnormal uterine bleeding.

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Louis Scotti

Senior Vice President, Business Operations and Corporate Development

Louis Scotti, over the course of his 35-year biopharma career, has built and led teams in diverse areas, including business and corporate development, marketing, investor/public relations and strategic planning. He has negotiated over twenty-five revenue-producing partnerships for biopharma companies. While Senior Vice President, Louis led the due diligence and sale of IriSys LLC to Societal CDMO in August 2021 and successfully obtained multiple research and clinical supply contracts with government research organizations, including the NIH, NCI and NCATS. Previously, he was Vice President Commercial Planning, Business Development and Marketing for Arena Pharmaceuticals. He started his career at Bristol-Myers as Manager, New Products Marketing. Louis was educated at the University of Pennsylvania where he obtained a B.Sc. in Bioengineering.

David Jacobs

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, MANUFACTURING & ENGINEERING

Mr. Jacobs is an operations executive with an extensive engineering background in devices for Women’s Health. He headed up Boston Engineering’s Medical Devices practice and previously served as Chief Operating Officer at Scion Medical (devices for breast biopsy) and Vice President of Operations at Interlace Medical (MyoSure, device for removal of fibroids/polyps), acquired by Hologic. He is also an Adjunct Professor, Operations Management, Bentley University. His education includes a BSME Northeastern University and a MBA, Bentley University.

Shelley Amster

CO-FOUNDER, CHIEF STRATEGY & GROWTH OFFICER

Shelley Amster has over 45 years of experience in women’s healthcare and reproductive endocrinology, including clinical andrology and IVF embryology.
She recognized the value of a frameless, magnetic technology for targeted delivery of contraceptive drugs to the uterus. With her experience in and knowledge of embryo transfer procedures, she assisted with the development of 3Daughters’ patented Slider™ inserter/retriever system to address the pain of IUD insertion and removal.
She is a well-known and respected advisor to the greater Massachusetts life sciences community.

Georgina Miles

MARKETING COORDINATOR

Georgina joined 3Daughters in November 2023 after graduating summa cum laude from the University of Massachusetts Boston with a BA in Communication Studies, having also won the David Nyhan Award in her subject. While studying part-time she had previously worked as a Concierge at CIC Cambridge, a flexible workspace campus in the city’s famed Kendall Square area that gave her experience in the high-energy, fast-paced environment of start-up companies. 

Wendy Blanda, PhD, MS

SENIOR DIRECTOR OF PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

Wendy Blanda is a scientist, manager, and team leader with over 20 years of drug-device combination product experience. Wendy has a track record of taking new and novel sustained release drug delivery implants from proof of concept to commercialization and is leading 3Daughters’ CMC and product development efforts. She has extensive experience in Women’s Healthcare products, most notably the Dapivirine Ring for HIV prevention. She brings an understanding of data-based decision making and practical solutions to meet timelines and milestones for our regulatory filings. Wendy is a co-inventor on over 20 patents and completed a PhD in Macromolecular Science and Engineering at University of Michigan. She has an MS in Engineering Management from California State University and a BSc in Polymer Chemistry from at California Polytechnic State University. 

Michael G. Vergano

SENIOR DIRECTOR OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Michael Vergano has an extensive career of executive management positions and a 30-year track record of contributions to product development, operations efficiencies, and profit enhancement in medical device and consumer products industries. Michael is leading the 3Daughters project management activities. He has been involved in medical device start-ups and has experience in product system process design and validation, as has a background in regulatory and quality. Previously, he was Director of Operations and Product Development at Apple Medical, Inc. and its division INSIGHT Medical, and has served in several engineering management roles for Ciba Corning Diagnostics, MicroSurge, Inc. and Boston Scientific Corporation. Michael is a certified medical device auditor (CMDA). He has a BSc degree in Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University.

William Bracken, PhD, DABT

HEAD OF TOXICOLOGY

Dr. Bill Bracken, certified by the American Board of Toxicology, provides leadership and guidance in areas of nonclinical safety assessment for drug development, including toxicology, pathology, and safety pharmacology. Bill is leading the 3Daughters preclinical program and the safety studies needed for our IND and NDA. He has held senior roles at AbbVie as Director of Global Preclinical Safety and Chair of the Drug Safety Committee. Dr. Bracken has also conducted expansive research on mechanisms of carcinogenicity at Oak Ridge National Labs, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and the Midwest Research Institute. He completed his NIH Toxicology Fellowship at the University of Kansas Medical Center, received a MS and PhD in Toxicology from Utah State University, and has a BSc in Biology from University of Missouri – Kansas City.

Mary Mahony, PhD, HCLD (ABB)

 CHIEF SCIENTIFIC OFFICER

Dr. Mahony is a medical affairs veteran with almost four decades of experience in reproductive medicine and endocrinology. Dr. Mahony recently served as EMD Serono’s Vice President of Fertility and Endocrinology where she led the medical team for pharmaceutical products and IVF laboratory medical devices. She is also an Associate Professor & Division Director of Reproductive Sciences at the OB/GYN Department at the Eastern Virginia Medical School and has extensive publication and journal credits in this field.

Gary Shangold, MD

 CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER

Dr. Gary Shangold brings over 30 years of executive, medical, and scientific experience as a reproductive endocrinologist. He has served as CMO of Enteris BioPharma and Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Shangold also served as CEO of NovaDel Pharma. He has previously held senior roles in clinical research and regulatory affairs at RW Johnson Pharmaceutical R&D (Johnson & Johnson) and served as Medical Director for the OB/GYN/Infertility unit at Serono Labs (now EMD Serono). Dr. Shangold completed his Fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology at the University of Southern California and his residency in Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Miami. He completed an MD at Columbia University and a BA in Social Behavior (cum laude) at University of Pennsylvania.

David Turok, MD, MPH, FACOG

CHIEF
Division of Family Planning Associate Professor Dept of Ob/Gyn University of Utah

Siripanth Nippita, MD

CLINICAL ASST PROFESSOR
Dept of Ob/Gyn NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Tara Kumaraswami MD

Asst Prof U Mass Med School Director, Ob/Gyn Residency Program

Mary Lake Poli

PROFESSOR, OB/GYN

Carlos M. Gradil, DVM, MS, PhD, DAC

3DAUGHTERS ADVISOR AND INVENTOR

Dr. Gradil is a world renowned veterinary reproductive specialist and is dedicated to providing comprehensive breeding and reproductive care for horses. He is Director of University of Massachusetts, Equine Program and an Extension Associate Professor. Dr. Gradil also leads the Reproductive Medicine Service, at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University.

Dr. Gradil obtained his M.S./Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota and his DVM from the University of Lisbon, Portugal. His postdoctoral training was completed at the University of Minnesota, the University of Ottawa, and Cornell University. His Honors and other distinctions include: AID, Fulbright, NATO, Rockefeller Fellow. Phi Zeta, Kappa Chapter and Diplomate of the American College of Theriogenology.

David F. Archer, MD

CHAIR, 3DAUGHTERS SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY BOARD
Preeminent Expert on Women's Health

David F. Archer, MD, is Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Director of the Clinical Research Center. He is a member of the CONRAD program that is involved in developing combination products for contraception and prevention of heterosexual transmission of HIV virus. He is a Fellow of the American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, the North American Menopause Society, and the International Menopause Society. Dr. Archer has served on the Boards of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, and the North American Menopause Society (NAMS). He is a Board member of the Anne and Egon Diczfalusy Foundation. Dr. Archer has been President of the Society of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (SREI), and the North American Menopause Society. He is the recipient of a NAMS Award for Perimenopausal contraception, the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals Alan F. Guttmacher Award, and the Eastern Virginia Medical School Deans Award for Outstanding Research. He is on the Editorial Board of Menopause, Contraception, and Contraceptive Technology. His publications are related to hormones and menopause, contraception, and reproductive endocrinology. His current research is on the mechanisms involved in abnormal endometrial bleeding.

John F. Vacha, MSA, MBA, CPA

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

John F. Vacha has extensive experience serving in numerous CFO roles with and has a background in finance, board advisory roles, strategic planning, and fundraising. He began his career at Deloitte & Touche, LLP. Over the past 24 years, he has served as Vice President, CFO, and Treasurer at Intact Medical Corporation (acquired by Medtronic). He has in-depth knowledge and experience working in the women’s healthcare field. John is a licensed CPA in Massachusetts and holds an MBA and MSA in Business & Accounting from Northeastern University and a BA in Psychology from College of the Holy Cross.

Mary Beth Cicero

CO-FOUNDER, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Mary Beth Cicero has over 40 years of executive leadership roles in marketing and business development. She has significant professional experience in Women’s Healthcare, having spent the greater part of her career working in contraception, fertility, and most disease states that affect women. Mary Beth was formerly President of MarketSense Ltd., a healthcare consulting firm, where she worked with over 100 clients on marketing assessments, partnering activities, fundraising, market research, and every aspect of licensing. She served as Vice President of Business Development for Agile Therapeutics (Twirla®) for over seven years. Other previous positions include Vice President of Business Development at two biotechnology companies. Prior to that time, she led US marketing for Serono Labs (now EMD Serono) focusing on infertility treatments. Mary Beth’s educational background includes a BSc in Biology (cum laude) from Boston College and an MBA in Marketing from Babson College. In addition to her professional responsibilities, she teaches a course entitled “Marketing Principles and Applications for Pharma Entrepreneurs” for the Jie Du Center for Innovation at the University of the Pacific.