Issue 29: Govt scraps period pant tax | $6m for Inito fertility | new NICE guidance on menopause
+ lots more in your weekly round-up of women's health innovation and FemTech news
Hi! Welcome to issue #29 of FutureFemHealth, here to bring you your weekly news about women’s health innovation and FemTech (w/c 20 November 2023).
🌟 Coming up today we’ve got:
🩸 Govt finally scraps tax on period pants
📈 $6m for Inito the at-home fertility hormone test
✅ The new draft guidance on menopause diagnosis and treatment
👩🏽💻 10 harsh lessons learnt as a FemTech founder
Got news to share from the world of FemTech and women’s health innovation? Let me know at anna@futurefemhealth.com
🩸 Happening today: VAT to be scrapped on period pants
The UK’s 20% tax on period pants is set to be abolished today in the Government’s Autumn statement.
Period pants producer Wuka has been campaigning for three years to scrap the tax. They argued that removing the tax would bring period pants in line with other period care products, which have been exempt since 2021, and make them more accessible for consumers. Wuka was recently joined by Marks & Spencer and around 50 other producers in the campaign.
Congratulations and thank you to founder Ruby Raut and her team at Wuka for leading this campaign!
✅ UK: New guidelines for menopause on the way
New draft guidance on menopause is out this week from The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
These guidelines were first issued in 2015 and well overdue an update. They’re important because they bring together evidence-backed info on menopause and help guide healthcare professionals with diagnosis and treatment.
That’s especially useful considering many doctors haven’t received formal training on menopause and may not have up-to-date information. Patients find the guidelines a lifeline - a document they can take to appointments to show their doctors and have more informed conversations about treatment options.
The consultation is open until 5 January 2024. I’m expecting lots of feedback given the initial response to the draft has been, let’s just say, vocal. Some have criticised what they see as an over-emphasis on Cognitive Behavioural Therapies (CBT). Prominent medic, Dr Louise Newson has said this gaslights women. Others have said that important lifestyle measures such as exercise and nutrition are almost completely missing.
Either way, with HRT shortages still ongoing and almost infinitely long waiting lists for treatment options such as CBT, surely the bigger issue is how we bring any of these treatment options off paper and make them more accessible for those who need them?
💰 Funding, deals and investment news
📌 INDIA: $6m for Inito at-home fertility hormone tracker. India-based Inito’s fertility monitor and kit measures four fertility hormones on a single test strip and gives users diagnostic results on their phone in just 10 minutes. 2.5m tests have already been taken. “Unlike other products that leave the interpretation of hormone values to the user, our app looks at the evolution of four hormones together and determines if the fertility rating for that day is low, high or peak and if ovulation has indeed occurred in this cycle,” CEO Aayush Rai told TechCrunch. Series A funding was led by Fireside Ventures. (Source: TechCrunch)
📌 GERMANY: €2.5m for Frieda Health menopause support. Berlin-based Frieda Health’s digital health platform combines medical and psychological support during menopause. “After witnessing a long-overdue focus on the female menstrual cycle in recent years, it is now time to consider the end of the cycle,” said Valentina Ullrich, CEO and Founder of Frieda Health. Pre-seed funding came from the Maximon Longevity Co-Investment Fund.(Source: Longevity.Technology)
🌟 More news from this week
📌 Two-thirds of UK women have bad work experience due to periods. In a survey of more than 2,000 women by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), more than half said they had had to miss work because of their period symptoms. However, only one in 10 women said their organisation provided support for menstrual health. The CIPD now calls on workplaces to be more supportive, to train managers and destigmatise women’s health. “Menstruation is a natural part of many employees’ lives, and it shouldn’t be a barrier to success or wellbeing,” said Claire McCartney, the CIPD’s senior resourcing and inclusion adviser. (Source: The Guardian)
📌 10 harsh lessons learned building Wingwomen. Reproductive health start-up founder Adonica Shaw shares reflections on two years running a business - including the need to pivot quickly, her experience raising funds as a person of colour, and the cost of getting investment. It’s an eye-opening read. (Source: Adonica Shaw on LinkedIn)
📌 How do you break into the US market? Dr Vishaal Virani, Head of Health at YouTube, shares his tips and resources for health start-ups who want to get into the US market. (Source: Dr Vishaal Virani on LinkedIn)
📄 Govt & policy news
📌 US: ’Celebrate this historic moment’: Journalist, author and women’s health founder Maria Shriver was one of the key driving forces behind the launch of The White House Women’s Health Initiative last week. I highly recommend reading her reflections on this milestone, it’s a stunning essay. (Source: Maria Shriver Sunday Paper)
📌 ENGLAND: NHS England promises to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040: Setting this target will save c.700 lives per year and the suffering of many thousands more. A combination of vaccinations and screening for early detection will help to achieve the goal. (Source: BBC)
📌 ENGLAND: Contraceptive pill to be more accessible. Pharmacies across the country will begin offering the new contraceptive service in December with almost half a million women able to access the pill next year without needing to contact their GP first. But some have warned that pharmacies will need more training first. (Source: NHS England)
That’s all for this week! Let me know what you think in the quick poll below or drop me an email anna@futurefemhealth.com with what you’d like to read in this newsletter - I’d love to hear from you,
See you next time,
Anna