Journey of Cervicheck’s Founders, Anirban Palit and Sayantani Pramanik

Building a Successful Health-Screening Startup for Women
Rajshree Upadhyaya
Jaipur
Business Remedies. Keeping in view the dangerous impact of cervical cancer, Sayantani Pramanik and Anirban Palit established Cervicheck, a successful health-screening startup dedicated to women. The idea began as an emotional reaction to a personal loss-an incident that shaped the founders’ vision long before it evolved into a healthcare startup. Launched in 2019 under the parent company Pragmatech Healthcare Solutions, this venture was born out of Anirban’s personal experience with the devastating effects of cervical cancer due to late detection.
Both founders came from strong healthcare and diagnostics backgrounds. They recognized that India’s biggest challenge wasn’t treatment-it was the lack of easy, equitable, and stigma-free screening options for women. This blend of personal motivation and professional expertise laid the foundation for Cervicheck.
In the early stages, the company focused on solving a basic yet overlooked problem. Across India, women hesitated or were unable to get screened for cervical cancer due to social barriers, lack of awareness, or limited access to gynecological facilities. Instead of designing a hospital-centric solution, the founders envisioned a tool that would bring screening into the hands of women-ensuring dignity, privacy, and convenience.
From this idea emerged the cervical self-sampling kit-a compact device designed for safe and comfortable sample collection at home, without needing a clinical visit. This kit became the heart of the brand. It went through multiple rounds of prototyping, user trials, and medical collaborations before reaching its final form.
Milestones That Built Trust Across Medical Communities, NGOs, and Public Health Networks
As the product matured, the company expanded its offerings to include point-of-care screening assays and integrated partnerships with certified diagnostic labs. This ensured that every sample collected with the kit could be processed using clinically validated testing pathways-maintaining accuracy while simplifying logistics for users.
During trials, the founders placed significant emphasis on user sensitivity, ensuring that women from both urban and rural backgrounds could use the kit confidently. The early success of pilot programs confirmed that a simple and private screening tool could greatly increase participation in preventive healthcare.
By 2023, regulatory approvals further validated Cervicheck’s efforts, helping the company transition from controlled pilots to large-scale adoption. This milestone built trust among medical communities, NGOs, and public health networks-who were eager for innovative ways to improve screening rates.
The brand also began community-based outreach programs, collaborating with healthcare workers and launching awareness campaigns. Each initiative brought thousands of women into the screening pipeline-women who otherwise would have gone untested.
A Growing Force in Women’s Preventive Healthcare
When Cervicheck appeared on Shark Tank India, the founders presented not just a product but a mission. Their pitch highlighted the massive gap in cervical cancer screening across the country, the clinical reliability of their patented design, and the strong early traction they had achieved.
The clarity of their mission and the practicality of their solution impressed the Sharks, leading to an investment on the show. The visibility boosted the brand’s reach among new audiences and strengthened opportunities for partnerships across multiple states.
Today, Cervicheck is fully operational and expanding its presence across India. Its focus remains on accessibility-bringing screening into homes, workplaces, community centers, and remote regions with limited healthcare infrastructure. The self-sampling kit remains its flagship offering, supported by a growing diagnostic ecosystem that ensures every sample receives timely and actionable results.
By combining empathy-driven design with medical rigor, Cervicheck has become a powerful force in women’s preventive healthcare. It proves that impactful innovation does not always require complexity-just clarity of purpose and consistent execution.