Pittsburgh-based investors Next Act Fund is pleased to announce its recent investment in Astarte Medical.

Astarte revolutionizes the care of preterm infants by providing quantitative data about gut health that enables personalized care and nutrition to help them grow. Astarte was founded by Tracy Warren and Tammi Jantzen, two former venture capitalists who are focused on investing in women and infant health. Warren and Jantzen's third co-founder Katherine Gregory, RN, PhD a newborn ICU nurse, introduced them to the challenges related to gut health for preterm babies.

Astarte Medical is based near Philadelphia in Bucks County. The firm is currently raising money for the launch and support of its first product, NICUtrition Guidance, a rules engine that standardizes enteral feeding for preterm infants. Studies have shown that practice variability impacts outcomes, length of stays, and feeding milestones for preterm infants who average a stay of 77 days in the hospital. Astarte also has plans to develop MAGI, a "gut-health" score, to improve the growth and development of preemies while lowering medical treatment costs.

Tracy Warren commented "Working with Next Act Fund has already been an excellent experience. They are very professional and we've already met people in the health IT space who can help us with our go-to market strategy. Next Act has also made introductions for us and helped broaden our network. Since I was previously working as one of the women who make up 5% of the venture capital industry, I think a group like Next Act that really looks at opportunities for women, by women, is really important in the field of early stage investing."

Yvonne Campos added "We are very pleased to be working with Astarte Medical, a pioneer in its support for preterm infants. By quantifying gut health and standardizing care, Astarte will help propel lower costs and better outcomes in both the short- and long-term. Tracy and her team are an excellent addition to our portfolio, and we are excited to welcome them to the Next Act Fund family "

About Next Act Fund
Next Act Fund was founded in 2017 with the intent of investing in early-stage, women-owned/led companies, thereby positively impacting women, the region, and the nation. Next Act Fund, which is the first of its kind in Southwestern Pennsylvania, is also focused on member education, hosting monthly educational sessions open to its members and the public, as well as a series of educational sessions targeting "future investors".