💌 Issue 67: Innovate UK u-turn | $10.75m for Melodi Health | Carevix cervical device first use in NHS
+ lots more in your weekly round-up of women's health and FemTech news
Hi! Welcome to issue #67 of FutureFemHealth, here to bring you your weekly news about women’s health innovation and FemTech (w/c 2 September 2024).
I’m back in your inbox after a week off last week. If you managed to also get a break this summer I hope it was a good one 😊
🌟 Coming up today we’ve got:
🔄 Innovate UK u-turns on its ‘broken promise’ to female founders
💰 Melodi Health closes $10.75m to advance breast reconstruction
❤️ First UK hospital adopts pain-reducing cervical device 'Carevix’
✅ HANX adds GLP-1 prescriptions as part of weight management programme
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🔄 Innovate UK u-turns on ‘broken promise’ to female founders
The UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK, has overturned a decision to cut short funding for female founders from £4million down to just £1,875,000.
Following huge pressure - thanks to a speedy campaign mobilised on social media by female founders - the organisation has now announced it will commit to the full 50 grants as originally promised, rather than the 25 it awarded.
“We recognise the impact this has had on the many applicants, and on the community as a whole, and we apologise wholeheartedly,” the organisation said in a statement on LinkedIn on Monday afternoon.
With just 2% of VC funding going to female founders, so grant funding schemes like this really are a valuable boost for start-ups. But in this instance, it’s demoralising how few female founders were successful (over 1,400 applied and many spent up to 80 hours each on applications), even without the cut to the funding.
Dearbump founder Emma Jarvis was the first to spot the funding pot had decreased. As she wrote on LinkedIn at the time:
”I've spoken with many of the incredible women who applied. They received outstanding scores and positive feedback, yet were still left without the funding to move their ideas forward.”
(Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)
💰 Funding, deals and investment news
📌 US: Melodi Health closes $10.75m Series A. Melodi supports women with breast reconstruction post-mastectomy and is working on ‘Melodi Matrix’ an implantable designed to support the soft tissue and release antibiotics as it is absorbed through the body to reduce infection. As co-founder and CEO Sarah Worrell explains: “This device is unlike anything surgeons currently have in their toolbox to mitigate a situation that occurs in as many as 14% of women undergoing mastectomy followed by reconstruction.” Funding came from Engage Venture Partners and others. (Continue reading: Medical Device Network)
📌 INDIA: Laiqa Wellness raises $1.8 million in seed funding. The FemTech sector in India is projected to grow at a CAGR of 17.8% reaching $3,875.8 million by 2030, according to Grand View Research. Founded in 2023, Laiqa Wellness is part of this growth. The team is building ‘MyLAIQA’ app to offer AI-driven health advice based on cycle data. They aim to help address conditions like PCOS and insulin resistance, uniquely blending both modern treatment techniques with Ayurvedic wisdom. Funding from Ivy Cap Ventures will support community and product growth. (Continue reading: Economic Times)
📌 US: Tennis legend Maria Sharapova invests in Cofertility. When Cofertility launched in 2022, it introduced a fresh model for egg freezing - women can freeze their eggs for free when they donate half of the eggs to people that can’t otherwise conceive. Now five-time Grand Slam winner turned investor Maria Sharapova is to back start-up (deal undisclosed). (Continue reading: Vogue)
📌 FRANCE: Samsung closes acquisition of French Femtech business Sonio. This deal between the French AI-powered prenatal ultrasound company Sonio and corporation Samsung was first announced in May this year. Sonio’s tech allows clinicians to perform comprehensive ultrasound exams and share clips and images with patients instantly. (Continue reading: Verdict)
🌟 More news from this week
📌 UK: First UK hospital adopts pain-reducing cervical device 'Carevix' - as makers Aspivix announce MHRA approval. Aspivix’s ‘soft-suction’ device is a modern, less painful alternative to the tenaculum which is often used in transcervical procedures such as IUD/coil insertions. With existing FDA approval in the US and a CE mark for Europe, this MHRA approval allows for use in the UK. Peterborough City Hospital becomes the first to join Aspivix’s ambassador program to try out the device, ahead of further commercialisation and hopeful NHS adoption shortly. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)
📌 US: Aetna expands access to fertility services, becoming first major insurer to cover IUI. Adding intrauterine insemination (IUI) means reduced out-of-pocket costs because it is a less invasive and involved process than IVF. The procedure is also a great option for someone using donor sperm or wanting to try treatment before IVF. (Continue reading: Fortune)
📌 UK: HANX launches GLP-1 prescriptions as part of weight management programme. Weight management can be a taboo topic - weight loss even more so. But sexual and intimate wellness start-up HANX knows the impact that weight can have on many aspects of women’s health. It’s introducing GLP-1 prescriptions - plus an holistic coaching and support programme - from its digital pharmacy. The goal is to support sustainable weight management, particularly for anyone navigating menopause symptoms or PCOS symptoms. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)
📌 US: Hinge Health and Midi Health partner for holistic menopause care. Just last month a landmark study by Dr Vonda Wright coined the term ‘musculoskeletal syndrome of menopause’ (MSM) - highlighting that 71% of individuals going through menopause experience joint and muscle pain. Perfect timing then for this new collaboration between virtual menopause clinic Midi Health and the movement therapy experts from Hinge Health. (Continue reading: MedCity News)
📌 US: MyMenopauseRx partners with MyUTI to enhance access to virtual UTI care for midlife women. Menopause significantly increases the risk of experiencing UTI symptoms such as urgency and frequency, as well as chronic UTIs. This collaboration means patients at virtual clinic MyMenopauseRx will benefit from access to MyUTI’s quick and precise urine testing. Just like the Hinge/Midi partnership, this one’s all about making menopause care more holistic. (Continue reading: Yahoo Finance)
📌 UK: How fertility benefits got bumped up the office agenda. Are UK businesses finally making reproductive health a priority - and backing it with funding? Fertility benefits provider Fertifa has reported a quadrupling of its client base since 2022. Executive Director Eileen Burbidge notes that “since 2023, curiosity and fact-finding has moved towards action and introducing the benefits.” (Continue reading: The Guardian)
🌟 Latest resources
📌 Can you spot a women’s health fake? As women’s health goes ‘mainstream’ how do consumers know how to trust? Bookmark and save this brilliant beginner’s guide to interpreting and understanding clinical data from Communications Strategist Hannah Wrathall and Medical Affairs Expert Elena Mills (Continue reading: Raising our voices!)
🩸 Research and women’s health news
📌 GLOBAL: Blood tests would allow 30-year estimates of women’s cardio risks. Women’s heart disease risks should be evaluated when they are in their 30s rather than well after menopause as is now practice, say researchers. The study, presented at the European Society of Cardiology, looked at three biomarkers in nearly 28,000 women, finding those with the highest ranges were up to 2.6 times more likely to have a major cardiovascular event. The findings could inform preventative treatment in much younger women - plus of course create new demand for screenings, drug manufacturers and new treatments to help. (Continue reading: Reuters)
📌 UK: British entrepreneur backs £1m study to improve understanding of endometriosis. Businesswoman Marie Macklin once collapsed while out shopping due to the pain of endometriosis. An operation to help her resulted in a full hysterectomy at the age of 32. Marie now joins Edinburgh University scientists for the project ENDO1000, which will attempt to pinpoint genetic and other risk factors that influence the disease’s onset. Recruitment for the study begins next year. (Continue reading: The Guardian)
📄 Govt & policy news
📌 UK: Women encouraged to download new NHS health app. 1,200 women in Suffolk and North East Essex shared their experiences of women’s health services - with a clear ask for more trusted information and education. Now the Integrated Care Board for the area has introduced CONNECTPlus. It’s been developed by HCI digital, which already provides patient education services to 20 NHS trusts. (Continue reading: BBC)
✅ Jobs
📌 GERMANY: Head of Content Marketing, Clue
📌 UK: National Account Manager FMCG, Here we Flo
And finally….new for your reading lists
Momentum in women’s health and FemTech has seen a burst of attention for the sector in the form of new podcasts, more media coverage and growing newsletters (yep, FutureFemHealth being one of those!).
Now I’m excited to see news of two brilliant books dedicated to the business of women’s health being published this month:
Unlocking women’s health: FemTech and the quest for gender equity by Dr Brittany Barreto dives deep into the FemTech revolution, exploring the vital verticals of women’s health such as menopause, sexual health, breast feeding and chronic conditions. You can preorder now.
The Vagina Business: The innovative breakthroughs that could change everything in women’s health by Marina Gerner shines a light on innovation that matters. From a life-saving bra to non-hormonal contraception and new takes on fertility and menopause, this is all about the female-focused companies developing products to help women at every stage of life. You can preorder now.
I’ve preordered both books and can’t wait to read them - if you read either let me know what you think!
See you next time,
Thanks for the mention!