đ Issue 73: New women's health VC firm | Menopause next gen | $66m for migraine device
+ lots more in your weekly round-up of women's health innovation and FemTech news
Hi! Welcome to issue #73 of FutureFemHealth, here to bring you your weekly news about womenâs health innovation and FemTech (w/c 14 October 2024).
đ Coming up today weâve got:
đ„Â Menopause - the next generation
đ A new womenâs health VC firm launches - with familiar faces
đ $66m for implantable migraine device
â€ïžÂ Oxford Uni gets to work on worldâs first ovarian cancer prevention vaccine
Got news to share from the world of FemTech and womenâs health innovation? Let me know at anna@futurefemhealth.com
đ„Â Next Gen menopause
In the last few years, the landscape of menopause has rapidly evolved. What was once a topic shrouded in silence has now become a source of overwhelming information.
Weâre now in the era of the âAnxious Millenopauseâ where the majority say that the information they consume in the media or on social media about menopause is negative.
Dr. Naomi Potter, a menopause specialist and founder of Menopause Care clinics, highlights this issue, telling FutureFemHeatlh:
"I recently did a talk where the audience was aged 45-48 on average, and there was a lot of fear in the room from being completely confused by all of the information.
Millennials are fast realising that menopause could impact the lives they live right now.
Marleen ten Damme, founder of the Netherlands-based menopause platform Vi Health, told us:
âIn the past, menopause was often associated with old age â a milestone far in the distance. Now, women in their late 30s and 40s are realising that perimenopause can begin earlier than expected, and theyâre faced with the reality of managing symptoms while still in the midst of their careers and active lives.â
Shifting the narrative: from anxiety to empowerment
This yearâs World Menopause Awareness Day (Fri 18 October) marks a turning point, an opportunity for the narrative to shift to a more balanced approach.
So what can we expect?
At Vi Health for example, ten Damme is placing emphasis on both education and empowerment. The platform, which works with both employers and via large insurers to create supportive workplaces, has been prioritising education about biological changes, focusing on self-care and agency, normalising conversations about menopause and creating community and support networks.
Here in the UK, Gen-M - an organisation introducing the âMTickâ as a trusted symbol for hundreds of âmenopause-friendlyâ products is launching a campaign âLive Your Best Menopauseâ. The campaign will seed a rhetoric of âthriving instead of one of fearâ, reframing the positivity of this phase of life and a future where menopause is openly discussed and supported.
Period tracking apps too are harnessing the new-found awareness of menopause to help women to proactively approach symptom management in a familiar way. Clue appâs Perimenopause mode and Flo Healthâs perimenopause tracking mean that millennials will be the first generation to benefit from much earlier support.
Of course, progress with media narratives and in FemTech is undermined unless healthcare professionals are adequately trained and equipped to address menopause-related concerns. And when stories from women who are ignored or dismissed spread online and through media coverage this continues to feed the cycle of anxiety for millennials approaching perimenopause too.
But optimistically, the next generation of menopausal women will not experience this phase of life in the same way that that Gen X did. And brands and organisations operating in this space need to meet women where they are â more informed than ever before, but concerned. They will need to adapt their messaging and approach to help these women to embrace it, while acknowledging the complexities and individual experiences of each person's journey.
As Dr Potter stresses:
"I think it is important to remain positive that the menopause doesn't have to be doom and gloom. And at the same time, we also need to avoid toxic positivity or belittling what some women go through, and that's the challenge."
Continue reading this article in full: FutureFemHealth
đ°Â Funding, deals and investment news
đ US: RH Capital team launch Foreground Capital - a new VC firm for womenâs health. RH Capital has been a trailblazer as one of the first VC funds focused exclusively on womenâs health. Now, in a positive move that signals a maturation of the market, Alice Zheng, Stasia Obremskey and Elizabeth Bailey are setting up as an independent fund. "In our next fund, we're deepening our commitment to reproductive and maternal health, while also broadening our scope to include innovations that differentially and disproportionately impact women. This underscores the growing shift not only in our investment strategy, but also in the broader women's health landscape.â (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)
đ US: LEVY Health secures $4.5m seed funding to speed up the fertility journey. Healthcare providers using LEVY Healthâs software see a reduction in fertility treatment timelines from an average of 145 days to just 45 days. Clients already include womenâs health benefits provider Progyny. Funding for the female-founded start-up was led by XYZ Venture Capital. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)
đ US: ShiraTronics secures $66m in funding for implantable migraine device. Three times more women experience migraine than men, with hormonal fluctuations understood to play a role in that. ShiraTronicâs Migraine Therapy System is a small implantable device that sits beneath the skin delivering mild electrical pulses to targeted nerves associated with migraine pain with the aim of disrupting pain signals in the head to relieve or prevent migraines. This funding will support a large-scale clinical study. The round was led by Norwest Venture Partners. (Continue reading: Medical Device Network)
đ US: Hologic to buy Gynesonics for $350m to acquire fibroid system. The Gynesonics system treats fibroids without the need for an incision. And it works - three years after treatment 88% of patients in a clinical trial reported reduced fibroid symptoms. Currently Hologicâs own fibroid treatment procedure requires a minimum of three incisions, highlighting the benefit of this acquisition. (Continue reading: Medtech Dive)
đ Meet the 10 most active VC investors in FemTech startups. Recent large deals, such as Flo Health and Maven are signalling renewed interest in FemTech. Now Pitchbook data shows investment has already surpassed 2023âs total deal value - reaching $980m across 64 deals year-to-date. Avestria Ventures, Gaingels, and Alumni Ventures make Pitchbookâs list of the most active investors in FemTech since 2019. (Continue reading: Pitchbook)
đ GLOBAL: Melinda Gatesâ launches $250m in grants for womenâs health. Nonprofits can apply for between $1m-$5m to support womenâs health around the globe. The funding for an estimated 100 organisations will be from Gatesâ organisation Pivotal Ventures. âNo matter where you are in the world, womenâs health is foundational to the health of a broader society. There are so many amazing organisations working to improve womenâs health, and this call is about getting them the funding they need and making sure women everywhere can access the care they deserve.â (Continue reading: The Guardian)
đ More news from this week
đ Why is it still so hard to succeed in womenâs health? From the lack of investment, concerns about the market size to shame around the female body. In this long read, longtime womenâs health investor Leslie Schrock sets out her five âbosses to beatâ in womenâs health. Spoiler: she concludes the piece ultimately optimistic about the potential for the sector too. (Continue reading: Second Opinion)
đ©ž Research and womenâs health news
đ UK: ÂŁ600,000 given to create the worldâs first ovarian cancer prevention vaccine. Ovarian cancer is the 6th most common cancer in women with 7,500 new cases a year in the UK alone. Itâs often diagnosed in late stages. OvarianVax is a vaccine that will teach the immune system to recognise and attack the earliest stages of ovarian cancer. Researchers at the University of Oxford received this funding from Cancer Research UK and is a step towards a widely available vaccine. (Continue reading: Cancer Research UK)
đ Stool test could provide a simpler way to diagnose endometriosis. It currently takes up to 6-10 years on average for a endometriosis diagnosis. But researchers believe it could be detected through spotting low levels of a particular compound in faeces - and supplementation of that compound might even help control the condition. This small study in Houston, Texas, paves the wave for more research into the potential for a simple, non-invasive diagnostic and novel therapy. (Continue reading: bcm.edu)
â
 Jobs
đ UK: Senior full stack engineer (Tech lead), Dama Health
Thanks for reading and see you next time! If youâve missed any previous newsletter issues catch them all at futurefemhealth.com
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