💌 Issue 106: Hera Biotech acquires HeraFem | €40 million FemTech fund announced for France | A Maven IPO on the horizon? | Measuring heavy periods
+ lots more in your weekly round-up of women's health and FemTech
Hi! Welcome to issue #106 of FutureFemHealth (w/c June 16 2025).
🌟 Coming up today we’ve got:
❤️ Hera Biotech acquires HeraFem to expand cervical cancer diagnostics
🔥 Dedicated €40 million FemTech fund announced for France
📈 Maven Clinic looks set for IPO with key hires for executive team.
🩸 'Replacing guesswork': Irish start-up Joii launches period pad that can measure heavy periods
Got news to share with our 8,200+ global readers who are working in women’s health and FemTech? Or would you like to sponsor the newsletter and reach our audience? Reply to this email or let me know at anna@futurefemhealth.com
But first…
❤️ Fixing women’s health? This new UK start-up thinks it has the model
The UK health system, like many globally, is under pressure — and women are bearing the brunt. Over 630,000 are on gynaecology waitlists, and conditions like endometriosis still take years to diagnose. Enter, Aneira Health, launched this month with a big ambition: to rebuild the system around women.
I get lots of press releases and pitches through to FutureFemHealth promising big things, by the way. Start-ups ‘revolutionizing women’s health’, innovations ‘transforming care for millions’ - some truly do have great potential, others feel… let’s say, overwritten.
What caught my eye with Aneira Health is that rather than a symptom tracker or digital-only point solution, it will combine diagnostics, clinical care and AI into what it calls “whole-life healthcare, built for women.”
At its heart is a simple subscription offering a blend of both in-person and virtual care plus digital support. Members start with in-depth testing and co-create a personalized plan that evolves with them through every life stage, from PCOS to perimenopause.
Co-founded by renowned women’s health geneticist Dr Cecilia Lindgren and former CEO of genomics England Chris Wigley, Aneira is already CQC-accredited and is working with London’s Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust.
“We work alongside the NHS, not in competition, helping to reduce waitlists and provide a model that fills long-standing gaps in women’s health research, diagnosis and support,” says Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer Dr Nikita Kanani.
This kind of integrated, personalised, long-term care model is rare in the UK — and arguably anywhere outside of U.S names like Tia, Parsley Health, and Maven (which although operates in the UK it is as an B2B employer benefits provider).
“Too often, healthcare has been built without women in mind. At Aneira, we are designing an infrastructure that fits women’s lives and bodies while also providing access to expert, joined-up care,” continued Dr Kanani.
Of course, the challenge ahead is daunting. But if Aneira can scale its model affordably (subs are currently priced from £33 per month up to £109 per month*), it could help close systemic gaps — and do so profitably, too.
Read more about Aneira Health in our full story here.
*this story was edited after publication to update the pricing for Aneira.
💰 Funding, deals and investment news
📌 FRANCE: Dedicated €40 million FemTech fund announced for France. The non-profit FemTech France has been the driving force behind this initiative to unlock millions of dollars for women’s health. Announced by Valérie Pécresse, president of the Île-de-France region, the fund has launched with an initial €5 million and a goal of raising at least €35 million more. The focus will initially be financing ten start-ups over a year in four priority areas: endometriosis, fertility support, menopause care and women’s cardiology. FemTech France has previously identified an estimated 170 start-ups operating in France defined as FemTech. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)
📌 US: Hera Biotech acquires HeraFem to expand cervical cancer diagnostics. Known for its non-invasive endometriosis test, Hera Biotech is now adding point-of-care cervical cancer detection to its platform with the acquisition of HeraFem. The device, developed by Hera Diagnostics, offers same-visit diagnosis without labs or invasive sampling, which it says is key for reaching women in underserved regions. With 91% sensitivity for CIN2+ lesions, HeraFem strengthens Hera’s mission to close diagnostic gaps in women’s health. No deal terms disclosed. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)
📌 SWEDEN: EsterCare integrates Ovulai to strengthen PCOS support in the workplace. Known for its app-based PCOS support, Ovulai says its decision to become part of EsterCare responds to growing demand for both digital tools and medical care in one place. EsterCare’s workplace support platform has been around since 2021 and its company portal already provides support for menopause, menstruation, postpartum and more. The integration now strengthens what it can offer in fertility and hormonal health - increasingly critical issues in workplace wellbeing. No deal terms disclosed. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)
🌟 Industry news from this week
📌 IRELAND: 'Replacing guesswork': Joii launches AI menstrual monitoring tool. Heavy menstrual bleeding affects one in three women, but is often poorly diagnosed because who knows what’s officially counted as ‘heavy’ or ‘normal.’ But Joii combines a mobile app with specially designed menstrual pads that can be scanned to analyse blood volume and clot size giving a more objective, data-driven answer. The startup has raised €2.4m in funding to date, secured Class I Medical Device status, and early retailers include Wholefoods Wholsesale Ireland. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)
📌 U.S: Maven Clinic looks set for IPO with key hires for executive team. In the past year alone, the virtual clinic Maven has grown its client base by more than 170%, now serving 23 million people globally, up from 17 million in 2024. Four new senior leaders now join the team - all with significant experience in guiding businesses through public market transitions (hint, hint). Warm signals indeed for a potential upcoming IPO. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)
📌 UK: Public health bodies urged to launch period tracking apps to protect data. Can private companies be trusted to build period tracking apps? That’s a hard no according to this new report by Cambridge Minderoo’s Centre for Technology and Democracy, as it warns that sensitive personal data is being shared and sold. Its recommendation is that public bodies, such as the NHS, should be building in the space instead. Question is: would users prefer their governments to have access to their most private data rather than a private company?! (Continue reading: The Guardian)
📌 U.S: Organon and Evvy team up to broaden access to single-dose BV treatment. BV is the most prevalent vaginal infection among women aged 15 to 44 in the US and if left untreated can lead to more serious health complications. It also disproportionately affects non-Hispanic Black and Mexican American women. This partnership between global healthcare company Organon and vaginal health brand Evvy means that women diagnosed with BV via Evvy’s at-home test may now obtain same-day prescriptions of Organon’s XACIATO, a one-dose vaginal gel treatment through the Evvy platform. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)
📌 U.S: Monarch launches to power independent, membership-based women’s health practices in U.S. You could think of Monarch as a sort of Shopify for women’s health practices. It takes care of all the back-end operations, legal admin and technology for clinicians (for a membership fee) and allows them to focus on front-line care. Monarch says the model is aimed at addressing burnout among women’s health physicians and providing an alternative to high-volume, insurance-driven practice. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)
📌 UK: Token gestures won’t cut it. Women’s health needs real innovation. Does retail need to do more to support women’s health? This piece argues that resources and support for women are still too often non-existent or limited. (Continue reading: The Grocer)
📄 Govt & policy news
📌 U.K: Parliament votes to decriminalise abortion, repeal Victorian-era law. Britain's parliament voted 379-137 on Tuesday to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales to stop a growing number of women from being investigated by police for terminating pregnancies under legislation dating back to the mid-19th century. Abortions have been legal in England and Wales for almost 60 years but only up to 24 weeks and with the approval of two doctors. Women can face criminal charges if they decide to end a pregnancy after 24 weeks under a Victorian-era law that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. (Continue reading: Reuters)
📆 Save the date
TODAY: Power Voice for female founders - the preview (LinkedIn Live)
Join FutureFemHealth for a LinkedIn Live, today, where we meet executive speech and presentation coach Alicia Dara. She’s worked with huge names (including execs at Amazon and Microsoft) and is all about helping female founders to pitch, present and lead with authority.
We’ll discover:
✅ The best way to overcome anxiety and nervousness before giving a public talk or pitch
✅How to "read the room" and give your best performance
✅ How to instantly connect with an audience and hold their attention
✅ How to make maximum impact with your pitch to investors
» REGISTER FOR FREE FOR THE LINKEDIN LIVE HERE.
🔥 Can’t make it today? You can also join Alicia’s full Power Voice for female founders 90-minute training on Wednesday, June 25. Save 10% on your ticket with code FUTUREFEMHEALTH via this link.
Leslie Feinzaig, Founder and GP, Graham & Walker venture fund says:
“In hyper competitive fields that are full of bluster and posturing and loud voices, it can be hard to speak up. Especially if you’re ‘othered,' and you know you don’t fit the mold. For the past 4 years, Alicia Dara has helped every single female founder in our Graham & Walker accelerator and catalyst programs find her voice, fill it with confidence, and amplify the ‘other’ voices that deserve to be heard. The impact of what you’ve contributed is immeasurable, and is only just beginning. Thank you for magnifying our voices, and helping us find the confidence to project our visions louder.”
That’s all for this week! See you next time. If you’ve missed any previous newsletter issues catch them all at futurefemhealth.com and do make sure to follow us on LinkedIn.
Looking forward to it! See you soon :)