💌 Issue 59: McKinsey's female heart health report | Mira launches hormone health clinic | GLP-1s and contraception | UK election

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

Hello and welcome to issue #59 of FutureFemHealth, here to bring you your weekly news about women’s health innovation and FemTech (w/c 1 July 2024).

It’s outdoor festival season and I enjoyed writing this week’s newsletter watching Glastonbury Festival on TV (Coldplay had to be the highlight!). Yesterday I joined The Better Menopause to learn all about the importance of sleep for our health and wellbeing. Plus a parents’ evening for my son who starts school in September. Gulp!

🌟 Coming up today we’ve got:

• ❤️ Women’s heart health - new McKinsey report

• 👶🏼 Mira launches hormonal health clinic for fertility

• 💊 GLP-1s are changing contraception choices

• ✅ Eli Lilly’s Alzheimer’s drug approved

Got news to share from the world of FemTech and women’s health innovation? Let me know at anna@futurefemhealth.com

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👩🏽‍💻 But first….

Back in February, FutureFemHealth partnered with Clio Wood of &Breathe Wellbeing to explore the issue of the censorship of women’s health content on social media.

Through our research (which was published in The Times) we also heard that this discrimination goes further than social media - women’s health and sexual wellness brands are often refused service by insurers, ecommerce platforms, banks and payment providers.

Do you have an experience like this? We’re now expanding our research with a new survey and would love to collect your story so that we can raise awareness of this issue.

✅ Complete our two minute survey here (can be anon) so that we can highlight this issue.

❤️ The heart-shaped space in women’s health awareness

Photo by Christopher Beloch on Unsplash

Most people don’t care about their heart health. We’ve never learned to care. Women's recognition of heart disease as their top killer dropped from 65% in 2009 to 44% in 2019.

Research commitments are low too. Less than 6% of NIH funding goes to CVD research - with only a fifth of that dedicated to women’s heart health.

Last week, a new McKinsey report on women’s heart health highlighted just how underserved this area of health is. It cites Pitchbook data that shows just 20 early-stage companies currently focus solely on women’s cardiac health.

Start-ups such as Bloomer Tech, Hello Heart and Devyn Health do play a crucial role in supporting people who are aware of heart health and want to take action.

But how do we reach everyone else at risk? Rather than standalone solutions, there is a bigger opportunity in integrations in more comprehensive women’s health platforms and wearables.

Wearable devices like the Oura ring have recently begun to incorporate heart health insights alongside sleep and activity tracking, which makes cardiovascular monitoring an easy, seamless part of daily life. These contextual insights make heart health data more valuable because they can be viewed with other health metrics like hormonal changes or sleep patterns.

Aside from wearables, women’s health companies like Elektra Health and Maven which address menopause or pregnancy are also including heart health education and monitoring as part of their comprehensive care models. This works because education is delivered as part of broader care - whether the patient was previously aware of heart health or not.

We need more of this because the opportunity for improving heart health is significant. The McKinsey report suggests closing the heart health gap in the US alone would help women regain 1.6 million years of lost life and boost the US economy by $28 billion annually by 2040. In fact, CVD makes up over a third of the health gap between US men and women.

Embedding cardiovascular monitoring and education into solutions women already use will help make significant strides. The future of women's heart health lies not in isolation, but in integration.

💰 Funding, deals and investment news

📌 Nothing to share this week!

🌟 More news from this week

Image: Mira

📌 US/ GLOBAL: Mira launches new 'hormone health clinic' as accessible alternative to IVF. Around 250,000 IVF cycles are carried out in the US every year - but clinics would need to do 1 million or more to meet growing demand. That’s why ‘non-IVF’ or ‘pre-IVF’ solutions are so important - supporting people to parenthood in the fastest way possible and avoiding high-cost IVF where possible. It’s a growing trend I’ve written about before, and Mira joins the movement by launching its new holistic lifestyle support clinic to make fertility care more accessible and affordable. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)

📌 US: Evofem’s hormone-free contraception Phexxi to be offered on telehealth platform Hello Alpha as GLP-1 use increases. The rise of GLP-1s is creating demand for alternative reproductive health choices. That’s because GLP-1s may interfere with traditional hormonal contraceptive options. This new collaboration sees GLP-1 telemedicine prescriber Hello Alpha offer a non-hormonal vaginal gel called Phexxi that’s FDA-approved to prevent pregnancy without interacting with GLP-1s. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)

📌 US: Clear Health launches virtual microdosing Accutane protocol for acne. Adult acne in women has risen 10% in the last decade - and it’s not just a ‘cosmetic’ issue, there are serious implications for the mental health of sufferers. While the highly-regulated FDA-approved Accutane is a gold-standard treatment it can cause difficult side effects and is expensive. ‘Microdosing’ has risen in popularity in recent years as it’s a more affordable, lower dose protocol. Digital skin health platform Clear Health’s offering allows for virtual appointments and doorstep prescription delivery. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)

📌 Privacy fears sap potential of female fertility tech start-ups. The reversal of Roe vs Wade prompted many start-ups to beef up their privacy credentials. VCs are looking closely too. RH Capital’s Elizabeth Bailey says any sale of personal data is a ‘bright red line’ for them. On the flip side, start-ups are also being warned that some investors are holding back on FemTech even more than usual - pondering how profits can be made if data sharing isn’t available. (Continue reading: Financial Times (free registration required to read))

📌 The rise of ’spite tracking’ - and how it’s changing women’s health care. Women are tired of being ignored and overlooked by their doctors. That’s fuelling the surge in symptom tracking as women take charge of their own health. In fact, the women’s health app market is expected to grow 20% annually through 2030. This article concludes that since more tools equal better treatment, spite tracking is ultimately less about spite and more about hope. While this piece by Guidea’s Theresa Neil focuses on tracking, it could also apply to at-home diagnostics too. (Continue reading: Fast Company)

📌 UK: ‘Employers must normalise the conversation about menstruation in the workplace’: One of the UK’s most successful menopause workplace training companies, Henpicked, moved into menstruation support this year, signalling a growing appetite from employers and employees for more holistic support. Now Henpicked’s new poll of 750 employers and employees shows 83% of employees think their workplace should have a menstruation-friendly policy. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)

🩸 Research and women’s health news

Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

📌 US: FDA approves a second Alzheimer’s drug that can modestly slow disease. Dementia disproportionately impacts women. Eli Lilly’s Kisunla treatment, known chemically as donanemab, has shown in studies that patients declined 22% more slowly in memory and cognitive ability than those on a dummy infusion. It follows approval last year of a similar drug by Japanese drugmaker Eisai. (Continue reading: Independent)

📌 Does Ozempic boost fertility? What the science says. After the meteoric rise of weight-loss drugs in the mainstream, you may have heard rumours of links to pregnancies in people who had previously been told it was impossible. One hypotheses is that these drugs boost fertility. But this Nature piece concludes the exact mechanism, for now, is still unknown. (Continue reading: Nature)

📌 UK: Surgeons and periods. Menstruation is still a taboo subject even in operating theatres. And with long stretches in theatre anyone that suffers from heavy bleeding or pain risks leaks and discomfort. A disappointing behind-the-scenes of the reality of the culture of operating theatres. (Continue reading: The Bulletin of the Royal College of Surgeons of England)

📄 Govt & policy news

📌 UK: Experts analysed what each political party is promising for women’s health. With the UK election happening tomorrow (Thursday), how might the health of 51% of the population be improved? (Continue reading: Women’s Health Mag, plus I also compiled what each of the main parties says about women’s health in an article here a few weeks back)

📌 AUSTRALIA: Six health hubs to be established for women’s health. The Australian Government has committed a package of AUD$153m to add to 14 hubs that already exist. Each provides free or low-cost care services including sexual health testing and treatment. (Continue reading: Healthcare Asia Magazine)

✅ Jobs

📌 US: Chief of Staff to the CEO, Allara

📌 US: Governance, risk and compliance analyst, Oura

📌 US: Various Roles, O Positiv

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That’s all for this week! If this week’s issue was of value, please consider supporting my work with a paid subscription (£5 / $6.50 a month or £50 / $65 a year). Thank you!