Cindy Eckert

Cindy Eckert (formerly Whitehead) is an American entrepreneur who built and sold two pharmaceutical companies, notably Sprout Pharmaceuticals, creator of “female Viagra,” for more than $1B. She subsequently founded The Pink Ceiling which invests in companies founded by, or delivering products for, women. The Pink Ceiling’s incubator - dubbed The Pinkubator - is based in Raleigh, NC.^[1] Eckert was featured on the cover of Entrepreneur Magazine’s Women to Watch issue in January 2016. ^[2] In November of 2017, Eckert re-acquired Sprout Pharmaceuticals, and the rights to its drug Addyi, from Valeant.^[3]

Early life

Cindy Eckert was born in upstate New York. According to a New York Times profile piece, she attended a different school each year from the fourth grade through the twelfth. During those years she lived overseas in both The Fiji Islands and Italy. ^[4] “In hindsight, it’s made me good at observation, pretty good at appreciating different points of view and hugely adaptable,” she told The New York Times.^[4]

She graduated from Marymount University in Virginia.^[5]

Career

Eckert began her career with Merck, before moving on to work with smaller, specialty pharmaceutical companies Dura and Elan. ^[5] After a stint with QVC, Eckert returned to the healthcare space to found two pharmaceutical companies - Slate Pharmaceuticals and Sprout Pharmaceuticals - both of which she sold.^[1]

She sold Sprout to Valeant in 2015 after the company won FDA approval for the drug Addyi, the first drug designed to enhance female libido.^[6] Prior to founding Sprout, Eckert co-founded Slate Pharmaceuticals in 2007. Slate was focused on men’s sexual health with an FDA approved long acting testosterone product, Testopel. Slate sold in 2011 to Actient Pharmaceuticals.^[7]

Eckert established an investment firm called The Pink Ceiling in 2016 after the most recent exit, when she sold Sprout Pharmaceuticals to Valeant Pharmaceuticals for $1 billion.^[8] In November 2017, Eckert re-acquired Sprout Pharmaceuticals from Valeant for "almost nothing", according to Bloomberg.^[3]

Her exits total $1.5 billion^[5][9]

In 2018, Eckert formally changed her name from Cindy Whitehead.^[10]

The Pink Ceiling

Eckert launched the Pink Ceiling in order to improve access to capital for female-led start-ups.^[1] “The injustice I’m fighting with the Pink Ceiling is not only women’s limited access to capital, but also their limited access to mentors,” she told Entrepreneur Magazine. ^[1] Eckert works with a team of women to determine which female-led companies will be the recipients of venture capital funding.^[11][12]

To date, The Pink Ceiling has invested in eleven start-ups, with public announcements on their involvement with Undercover Colors (a company that is developing wearable nail tech to detect the presence of a date rape drug in drinks)^[8], Lia Diagnostics (which produces a flushable pregnancy test)^[13], Intuitap (which has a medical device aimed to streamline the spinal tap procedure)^[1], and Pursuit (which is developing a patented technology to improve four different aspects of sleep)^[14]

The Pink Ceiling’s affiliated incubator, called the “Pinkubator” because of its female focus, is located in Raleigh, North Carolina. The “Pinkubator” was established to provide female-focused entrepreneurs with direct access to mentors, investment opportunities, and business development guidance.^[5]

References