💌 7 women's health startups collaborate on AI tool | BoobyBiome raises £2.5m | Willow's new $35 pump | Europe bans gel nail polish

The global weekly briefing on women's health innovation and FemTech

Sep 10, 2025

Welcome to issue 113 of FutureFemHealth, (w/c September 9 2025) — we’re trusted by 8,500 investors, innovators and leaders to decode the funding flows, breakthrough ideas and policy shifts transforming the sector.

🌟 In this week’s briefing:

🔥 Seven women’s health startups collaborate on new AI tool
💰 BoobyBiome raises £2.5 million to harness breast milk microbiome and support feeding choices
✅ Less tech, more impact? Willow introduces the $35 wearable manual breast pump
❌ Europe bans gel nail polish over fertility concerns

But first…a quick note:

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A big thank you to the 120+ of you that have already taken part. I’m now digging into the results and will be reaching out to those who offered to share more in short calls.

Seven women’s health startups walk into an AI launch…

This week, media platform Rescripted unveiled Clara, a new AI-driven Q&A tool built to give women science-backed health information. (You can read our full story here).

At first glance, it may look like another branded chatbot. But what caught my eye is who’s behind it: a coalition of seven well-known and credible startups spanning fertility, menopause, diagnostics and mental health: namely Midi Health, Brightside, Needed, Gaia, Teal Health, Proov and MyReceptiva.

That collaboration is unusual in women’s health, which can still be quite siloed. The group in this case has decided to pool their content into a shared, consumer-facing tool - which brings with it not just shared positioning, but shared reputational risk and shared data.

For women, the promise is clearer, science-backed answers in one place instead of confusing and contradictory Google rabbit holes.

It also signals how brands are getting creative in countering censorship, misinformation and the bias women face online - and increasingly, in AI too.

My first reaction, of course, was - is this safe? We’ve all seen the headlines of Chat GPT recently and how it serves up health (mis)information.

Rescripted’s co-founder Abby Mercado told me that Clara has guardrails: clear citations, up-to-date science, and importantly, an honest ‘I don’t know’ when limits are reached. It also has safeguards and signposts users to professional care when relevant.

It’s a clever idea. Positioned as public good, this is a smart piece of brand positioning and a data play - making partner content freely accessible and easy to discover while then funnelling users to appropriate products and services too.

Smart PR, yes. But also a sign that in the face of bias and censorship women’s health startups are ready to collaborate in new ways - to scale their visibility, trust and impact.

And if a collaboration of this kind raises standards, improves access and centers women in the data, then it’s a marketing move that deserves some airtime.

What’s your view? Write back and let me know!

💰 Capital flows: where are investors placing bets?

Image: Dr Tara O’Driscoll, Dr Lydia Mapstone and Dr Sioned Jones of Boobybiome

📌 UK: BoobyBiome raises £2.5 million to harness breast milk microbiome and support feeding choices. What if all parents could access the protective bacteria of breast milk for their babies - whether they breast feed or not? BoobyBiome’s research underpins two products: a patented storage device that keeps expressed milk closer to its natural state by protecting its microbiome, antioxidants and vitamins; and a live microbiome supplement drop designed to give formula-fed, c-section or preterm babies access to breast milk’s protective bacteria. Specialist deep tech investor Empirical Ventures led this seed round. It will support commercial launch of the storage device, partnerships with global infant bottle companies and continued development of the drop. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)

📌 U.S: Nurx parent company Thirty Madison sold to Remedy Meds in $500m all stock-deal. After rapid growth in under two years selling compounded GLP-1s, Remedy Meds appears to be diversifying ready to futureproof and take on key players like Hims & Hers. This acquisition of Thirty Madison brings in Nurx (birth control and reproductive telehealth), Cove (migraine) as well as Keeps (men’s hair loss). “We will broaden access, shorten time-to-treatment, and maintain the financial discipline that has defined our growth," says Remedy Meds founder Haris Memon. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)

📌 UK: Wild.Ai’s core assets acquired by Zepp health in move to expand women’s performance tech. Known for its focus on hormone-informed training and performance, Wild.AI carved out a following by tailoring fitness and recovery guidance to cycles and life stages. Now it’s set for a bigger reach after core assets were acquired by Zepp Health - the parent company behind the Amazfit line of smartwatches. “Zepp Health shares our belief that physiology-informed tools are critical for women to thrive in sport” said Wild.Ai founder Helen Guillame Pabis. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)

🌟 Industry moves and strategic shifts

Image: Willow’s new $35 manual breast pump

📌 U.S: Willow goes back to basics with $35 wearable manual breast pump. “FemTech” often gets equated with futuristic gadgets - but sometimes, impact comes from rethinking the most ordinary tools. Consider the manual breast pump: 68% of U.S. breastfeeding mothers own one, yet the design has barely shifted in two decades, leaving parents with clunky, uncomfortable, and indiscreet options. Willow - best known for its premium wearable electric pump - is now tackling this neglected category with the Willow Wave, a wearable manual pump that slips into a bra, offers hospital-grade suction, and costs just $34.99. With a mass-market of millions, this user-centered design could open up new scaling opportunities for Willow. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)

📌 U.S: Wisp takes women’s health to TikTok shop. Telehealth player is now the first women’s health brand to sell on TikTok Shop, launching its OTC products like UTI support and probiotics. The move highlights Tiktok’s growing role as a retail channel - but also the barriers that women’s health still faces there. Wisp recently persuaded TikTok to lift a ban on paid ads to promote herpes treatment. Yet as CEO Monica Cepak shares: “There’s still a lot of work to do. It’s unfair that erectile dysfunction ads can run, but we can’t advertise our OMG cream, which is like prescription-strength female Viagra.” (Continue reading: Modern Retail)

This week’s poll..

Last week’s poll ‘what do you think of the term FemTech?’: 33% of you thought the term was still helpful, while 28% of you said ‘are we still even debating this?!’. Just 9% of you said it’s a harmful term and the remaining 30% were neutral.

👩🏽‍💻 Do you have a juicy question we could ask our readers? Let me know at anna@futurefemhealth.com!

🩸 Research and women’s health news

📌 U.S: JAMA Network introduces JAMA+ women’s health platform. A much-welcome central hub for trusted peer-reviewed research on female physiology, that importantly will extend beyond reproductive health into cardiology, genetics, sociology and more. Spearheaded by Editor-in-chief Dr Linda Brubaker, the platform will also curate podcasts, expert interviews and explainers as it aims to elevate the visibility and accessibility of content that advances healthcare for women across the globe. (Continue reading: JAMA Network)

📄 Policy watch: risks and opportunities

📌 EUROPE: Gel polish banned over infertility concerns. EU regulators have outlawed a key ingredient in gel nail polish, ‘TPO’ after classing it as a category 1B carcinogen, mutagen and reproductive toxicant. Though direct evidence relates to animal studies rather than human they showed severe fertility issues caused by the ingredient. U.S and UK products aren’t yet impacted. “The system in the U.S waits for proof” said dermatologist Dr Hannah Kopleman, “Europe acts on strong suspcion.” (Continue reading: Parents)

✅ Hiring now

📌 UK: Senior Medical Partnerships Manager, Flo Health

📌 UK: Communications Manager, Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority

📌 US / EUROPE / UK: Executive Director of Digital Suppression / women’s rights program, Center for Intimacy Justice

📌 UK: Head of Business Development, British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS)

📌 US: Director of Reproductive Health and Rights, National Partnership for women and families

📌 US: Senior Director of Maternal Health

📌 US: Manager, Community outreach and strategic partnerships, Cayaba Care

That’s all for this week! If you’ve missed any previous newsletter issues catch them all at futurefemhealth.com and do make sure to follow us on LinkedIn.

Anna

PS. FutureFemHealth reaches 8,500 decision-makers and professionals in women’s health each week - from investors and founders to healthcare leaders and corporates. To explore partnership opportunities or request our media pack contact: anna@futurefemhealth.com