💌 Issue 85: Blueprint for change | $10m for Teal Health | novel endometriosis treatment

+ lots more in your weekly round-up of women's health innovation and FemTech news

Jan 22, 2025

Hi! Welcome to issue #85 of FutureFemHealth (w/c 20 January 2025).

What a week. We keep pushing on. Here’s the positives to focus on…

🌟 Coming up today we’ve got:

📈 The new blueprint for change in women’s health
💰 $10m for Teal Health’s at-home cervical screening device
💊 Gesynta Pharma raises $28 million for novel endometriosis treatment
❤️ UK’s first vaginal oestrogen cream without prescription

But before that: Would you like to support FutureFemHealth through sponsorship and get your brand in front of nearly 8,000 professionals, founders and investors in women’s health? I’m taking bookings from February onwards. For more info and a copy of our media pack drop me a line: anna@futurefemhealth.com

📈 A new blueprint for change

After last January’s landmark ‘$1 trillion global opportunity’ report, McKinsey continues to spotlight women’s health for 2025.

The firm has unveiled a new ‘blueprint’ to close the gender health gap, laying out five crucial action points: ‘count women, study women, care for women, invest in women and include all women.’

This approach is supported by a new mechanism to measure, track and address gaps across nine conditions across 15 countries.

McKinsey says that these nine conditions alone account for one-third of women’s health gaps. They include menopause, migraine, and postpartum hemorrhage.

A new women’s health impact tracking (WHIT) platform , launched in partnership with WEF and the Global Alliance for Women’s Health, is a tool to clearly identify the health disparities, quantify potential economic gains and guide strategic investments.

It’s designed to be used across the public, private and social sector—because everyone plays a role in improving women’s health. And it places data firmly as the foundation of doing that.

“Progress is possible, and closing the women’s health gap is achievable. Now is the time for action that will improve the lives of women and girls around the world and enable stronger economies.”

Read the full report: ‘Blueprint to close the women’s health gap: how to improve lives and economies for all’

Explore the tool: Women’s Health Impact Tracking (WHIT) platform

✍🏻 The menopause journalist: Hotflash inc.

Looking for a new newsletter read for 2025? At Hotflash inc, ‘menopause’ journalist Ann Marie McQueen coalesces the full realm of evidence, expert opinion and human experience to help women make informed decisions and take the right action for their whole selves when they meet the intersection of perimenopause, menopause and midlife or well before. She takes no sides, looking only for the true truth.

Ann Marie could well be the only journalist in the world who has made menopause and midlife her patch and it’s my recommended read for sorting fact from spin when it comes to this area of women’s health.

💰 Funding, deals and investment news

📌 US: Teal Health raises $10m ahead of launch of at-home cervical screening device. The ‘Teal Wand’ is a purpose-built device that allows a woman to collect her own vaginal sample for human papillomavirus (HPV) testing—a critical piece in cervical cancer prevention —all from the comfort, convenience, and privacy of her home. The device removes the need for an invasive, often uncomfortable exam. This investment round was led by Emerson Collective and Forerunner with continued support from existing investors. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)

📌 SWEDEN: Gesynta Pharma raises $28 million for novel endometriosis treatment. Endometriosis impacts 190 million women globally—that’s one in 10 women of reproductive age. Gesynta Pharma is beginning a Phase II clinical trial of its non-hormonal drug candidate for the debilitating inflammatory disease, that’s shown promise for reducing pain and lesion progression. This Series B round was led by Innovestor Life Science. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)

📌 US: Iron Health acquired by digital health start-up Metronomic. Since it was founded 2.5 years ago Iron Health has helped reduce wait times for women to see healthcare providers down by up to 600% when compared to alternatives. Iron Health will continue to operate as an independent entity. No deal terms disclosed. (Continue reading: Hit Consultant)

📌 US: Eli Lilly acquires cancer program from Scorpion Therapeutics in $2.5 billion deal. The deal centers on a Scorpion drug called STX-478 which is designed to inhibit mutations in the gene that drives breast, gynecological and head and neck cancers. (Continue reading: Stat news)

📌 How Venture Capital Investment in Women’s Health Changed in 2024. A glimpse of a silver lining for women’s health funding. Women’s health companies (US-based, VC-backed) raised a collective $1.19bn in 2024 across 111 deals. And while that was a lower number of deals than 2023, the total amount did increase by 4.3% with an average deal size of $10.71m. Eve Epker breaks down all the data. (Continue reading: Forbes)

🌟 Industry news from this week

📌 UK: Ovesse becomes UK’s first vaginal oestrogen cream without prescription. Speaking to a doctor or getting a prescription can sometimes deter women from seeking help for vaginal atrophy—a chronic condition that is said to affect half of postmenopausal women. Now, in a signal of rising demand for midlife health treatment options, this prescription-strength cream will be available over-the-counter in the major pharmacy chain Boots. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)

📌 UK: Plexāā collaborates with Panasonic to manufacture BLOOM⁴³ medical device. The BLOOM⁴³ platform helps patients prepare for breast cancer surgery and reconstruction—with a technique that has been shown to reduce wound healing. With over 1 million breast surgeries performed annually in the US alone, this collaboration will accelerate the production and scaling—with first products expected early this year. (Continue reading: Bio Industry)

📌 UK: Lab opens private research tissue bank in £25m investment into women’s health. This first-to-market tissue bank will collect and store menstrual blood, peripheral blood, umbilical cord tissue, and umbilical cord blood. The aim is to uncover potential cures or treatments for conditions such as hormonal condition PCOS, endometriosis, menopause, and certain cancers. While this bank will be for commercial use only (launched by a lab testing specialist BioGrad), it could set a precedent for similar initiatives and more understanding of the value of menstrual blood for women’s health. (Continue reading: The Business Desk)

🩸 Research and women’s health news

📌 UK: Women in the UK are being let down by much more than their contraception. Natural Cycles’ Dr Elina Berglum hits back at the recent media coverage of a BMJ published study highlighting changing contraceptive habits. “It’s not the 1960s anymore. Women today refuse to settle for solutions that don’t meet their needs.” (Continue reading: Natural Cycles)

📄 Govt, policy, regulation news

📌 US: Government website offering reproductive health information goes offline. The site, which contained information on access to abortion and reproductive healthcare and a Know-Your-Rights patient fact sheet, appeared to go offline on the evening of President Trump’s inauguration. The U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services originally launched the site in 2022. (Continue reading: CBS News)

📌 US: FemTech forecast: policy, regulation, and funding. 2024 marked milestones in women’s health innovation, but shifting U.S. policies in 2025 will shape funding, AI, and telehealth access. Consultant Katie D. McMillan shares actionable tips for companies on where to focus efforts and navigate changes. (Continue reading: Digital Health Insights)

📌 US: How First Lady Jill Biden will continue her commitment to improving women’s health. As her tenure in the White House ends, Jill Biden has restated her commitment to her work. (Continue reading: Fierce Healthcare)