💌 Issue 105: Menopause training boost | $12m for Eli Health's saliva-based hormone tracker | Amazon adds women's health to benefits connector program

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

Jun 11, 2025

Hello and welcome to issue #105 of FutureFemHealth (w/c June 9 2025).

🌟 Coming up today we’ve got:

🔥 Menopause healthcare training in the US gets a $10m boost
💰 $12m for Eli Health’s saliva-based hormone tracker
✅ FDA clears first AI tool for breast cancer risk prediction
👩🏽‍💻 Progyny becomes first women’s health provider to join Amazon’s Health Benefits Connector program.

Got news to share with our 8,000 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

🔥 Will the foundations of menopause care change?

The explosion in the menopause category in the last few years has largely benefited from the absence of properly trained healthcare professionals.

Education platforms, employer benefits, supplements, apps, communities and campaigners have filled a gap - not just in products and services, but in knowledge.

I’ve often wondered how much of the menopause sector would actually need to exist if only primary care did things better.

This week, two stories from opposite sides on the Atlantic highlighted both the green shoots of progress and the depth of the problem to fix.

A $10m new training program from The Menopause Society

In the U.S a meaningful step forward: The Menopause Society has announced that it will launch a $10 million comprehensive training program to equip healthcare professionals with the knowledge, tools and support to improve menopause care. (Read our full story here)

The program aims to reach 25,000 healthcare professionals over the next 3 years, including women’s health physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and trainees.

New data highlight the UK’s care gap

While in the U.K, new data reveals just how widespread the care gap still is - and why training remains urgently needed too.

A new survey of 2,000 UK women by menopause clinic Menopause Care reveals that only 56% felt supported and understood during their first GP appointment related to perimenopause or menopause. (Read our full story here)

The most common advice from GPs to women aged 35 to 44 is simply to make lifestyle changes. And worryingly, one in five (22%) say their GP didn’t suggest any treatment at all during the initial appointment.

The training gap is not a quick fix. These are long-standing, structural issues that may take a generation or more to truly address. But The Menopause Society announcement is at least a step in the right direction and a sign of stronger foundations for midlife health.

And, as clinical knowledge and practice does start to catch up what might that mean for startups and investment in the space? My bet is there’s actually room for more innovation, not less. Because when menopause is taken more seriously by primary care and patients feel heard and treated it creates more demand for solutions that can complement healthcare. At the same time, consumer products that are evidenced-based and clinically-backed will reach more people too.

Better care for menopause can only be a good thing. Menopause isn’t going anywhere.

💰 Funding, deals and investment news

📌 CANADA: Eli Health raises $12M USD Series A to launch the world’s first instant hormone monitoring system. Add your saliva to Eli Health’s ‘Hormometer’ and you’ll see hormone tracking results in its app within minutes. That could be a potential gamechanger for the estimated 60% of adults who experience symptoms of hormone imbalances, but can’t easily track those hormones in everyday life. This Series A enables the beta launch of cortisol tracking, with a waitlist for progesterone open too. The round was led by BDC Capital’s Thrive Venture Fund. Another investor, Accelia Capital commented: “This isn’t a single product — it’s the launchpad for a new class of everyday health and wellness tools.” (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)

🌟 Industry news from this week

📌 U.S: Progyny becomes first women’s health provider to join Amazon’s Health Benefits Connector program. A strategic win for Progyny, now featured on Amazon’s growing healthcare benefits marketplace, where eligible users can easily discover and enroll in its fertility, menopause and family planning. While Amazon dropped Progyny as its internal fertility vendor in favor of Maven Clinic last year, this broader collaboration shows confidence in Progyny’s platform - which currently serves over 530 employers and 6.7 million covered lives. It also addresses a key challenge in women’s health: benefit discovery, with nearly 1 in 4 U.S. adults unaware of their available health benefits. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)

📌 U.S: Biotech startup Daré partners with Rosy Wellness to bring new 'DARE to PLAY' sexual wellness cream to market. A total of 65% of the Rosy App community reported concerns around arousal when screened using a Female Sexual Function index. Now, this partnership sees Daré’s new topical cream - which makes use of sildenafil (the active ingredient in Viagra) - brought to market via Rosy’s own digital outreach and educational efforts. A win:win for both Daré and Rosy. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)

📌 U.S: FDA clears first AI tool for breast cancer risk prediction from startup Clairity. Current screening methods for breast cancer focus on detecting existing breast tissue. And risk models rely on risk factors such as age and family history. In contrast, Clairity is designed to predict five-year breast cancer risk by analyzing a routine screening mammogram and using AI to identify subtle correlations with future risk. (Continue reading: Fierce Biotech)

📌 HONG KONG: ‘We have very little data on Asian women’s health’: Why femtech innovation is urgently needed. Hong Kong’s femtech sector, once limited to just two companies in 2018, is now rapidly evolving, driven by innovation and investment opportunities in women’s health. And Hong Kong’s strategic position allows locally developed femtech solutions to impact hundreds of millions of women regionally - as long as stakeholders collaborate on a supportive innovation ecosystem. (Continue reading: Tatler Asia)

📌 U.S: Berry Fertility launches revamped app as egg freezing soars 39% year-on-year. Founded in 2022 by a team of former Google employees, Berry aims to make fertility care more accessible and less overwhelming. Its new redesign includes more treatment guides, medication tracking and the ability to manage appointments, lab results, symptoms and milestones through a custom fertility calendar. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)

🩸 Research and women’s health news

📌 UK: Women warned weight-loss jabs may affect contraception. The UK’s health watchdog has had 40 reports relating to pregnancies in people using drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro. As a result, the regulator suggests women use the most effective contraception to avoid pregnancy. (Continue reading: The Guardian)

📌 UK: Cervical screening invites to change in England. Invitations for cervical screening will be sent out every five years instead of every three for women aged 25-49 in England, if they have a negative test. Research shows they are at very low risk of cervical cancer and can safely wait longer to be screened again, NHS England has said. Charities say this is good news for those at low risk. Scotland and Wales have already introduced the change too. (Continue reading: BBC)

📌 EUROPE: Portugal introduces paid menstrual leave for endometriosis and adenomyosis. Employees can now access three consecutive days of employer-paid leave per month if they experience severe and/or disabling menstrual pain caused by endometriosis or adenomyosis. In 2023, Spain became the first European country to introduce leave for female employees who suffer severe menstrual pain, including pain due to conditions such as endometriosis or polycystic ovaries. (Continue reading: Lockton)

📆 Save the date

Power voice for female founders. Virtual. Wednesday, June 25, 4pm PDT / 7pm ET.

🎟️ Secure your ticket here. You can save 10% on your ticket with code FUTUREFEMHEALTH.

Is it time for you to find your Power Voice and take a big leap forward in your pitches and presentations?

Alicia Dara is a nationally recognized Executive Speech Coach and creator of Power Voice for Female Founders. She has helped thousands of people including CEOs, global VPs, executive directors and US Presidential candidates to break through blocks, find their Power Voice, and put it to work.

Here’s what Leslie Feinzaig, Founder and GP, Graham and Walker venture fund, had to say:

“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.”

On Wednesday, June 25, Alicia is hosting a 90-minute Zoom training to help female founders learn valuable communication skills that help you articulate your skills, knowledge and expertise and wisdom so you can build trust with key stakeholders along every part of your startup rounds and company build.

This action-packed session will include the four pillars of public speaking, how to answer high-level questions with your skills, knowledge and expertise, power storytelling techniques and power performance strategies to help you stay calm and maximize your charisma in the spotlight. You’ll also learn how to create your Power Voice practice routine so you can maintain your skills going forward!

🎟️ Find out more about this event here and secure your ticket. You can save 10% on your ticket with code FUTUREFEMHEALTH.

👉 👉 PLUS: I’m hosting a free LinkedIn live with Alicia next week! This is your chance to get a free taster of Alicia’s Power Voice training and decide if it’s for you. The LinkedIn Live with Alicia takes place on Wednesday, June 18. Register for the LinkedIn Live here

🎧 This week’s FemTech Focus podcast

Rita Health and the rise of data-driven fertility empowerment

💥 Rita Health is an AI-powered platform redefining proactive fertility crare. Meet CEO and founder Kamila Staryga on this week’s podcast to find out:

✔️ Why fertility care shouldn’t start only when you’re trying to conceive
✔️ How Rita is using behavioral science + AI to build personalized care plans
✔️ The myths surrounding AMH and “the fertility cliff”
✔️ How big data and better questions can unlock new insights into reproductive health

🎧 Listen now or watch on YouTube

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.