💌 Issue 87: Ovum's $1.7m for AI assistant | Reya Health birth control matcher | Pregnancy tech predicts growth restriction
+ lots more in your weekly round-up of women's health and FemTech news
Hello and welcome to issue #87 of FutureFemHealth (w/c 3 February 2025).
Thank you to Women of Wearables for naming me as one of the ‘top 200 trailblazers in women’s health and FemTech for 2025’, among so many incredible names and people that inspire me. Check out the full list here.
🌟 Coming up today we’ve got:
✅ Tackling reimbursement reform in women’s health
💰 Ovum raises $1.7 million for women’s AI health assistant
📱Reya Health’s new app simplifies finding the right birth control
❤️ Mirvie's technology can predict severe growth restriction in pregnancy - a leading cause of stillbirth
But before that: Would you like to support FutureFemHealth through sponsorship and get your brand in front of nearly 8,000 professionals, founders and investors in women’s health? I’m taking bookings from February onwards. For more info and a copy of our media pack drop me a line: anna@futurefemhealth.com
⏳FINAL CALL: Early Bird Tickets for SiS New York END Feb 14!
🚨 SiS New York 2025 isn’t just an event—it’s your fast-track to success in women’s health. On May 15-16, founders, investors, and industry pioneers will come together to build partnerships, secure funding, and spark innovation.
🔥 What You Get With Your Ticket:
✔️ Full access to keynotes, panels & workshops with the biggest names in women’s health
✔️ SiS Solve Pitch Competition ($100K+ in prizes!)
✔️ First 100 attendees get VIP access to an exclusive pre-event mixer ($99 value)
✔️ Post-event recordings of keynotes & panels ($499 value)
✔️ SiS Women’s Health Market Report (2024/25) ($199 value)
✔️ Goodie Bag with exclusive perks & discounts ($99 value)
✔️ VIP Rooftop Networking with investors & decision-makers
Total Value: $2,999 → Early Bird Price: $499 (ENDS FEB 14!)
👉 Early Bird Ends Feb 14 – Secure Your Spot Now
✅ Tacking reimbursement reform
Critical changes are needed in how women’s healthcare costs are reimbursed in the United States.
Currently, the system is failing - women face higher out-of-pocket costs for preventative care, complex billing barriers and lower reimbursement rates for OB-GYN services compared to other specialities.
The impact is far-reaching: women lose access to essential care or pay over the odds, providers struggle with inadequate reimbursement that limits their ability to grow, and investors then shy away from venture capital and research funding, stalling the innovation we need in women’s health.
“We're seeing rural labor and delivery units close and critical services like well-woman care and cancer treatment become increasingly inaccessible. Every conversation we've had with doctors, hospital administrators, investors and innovators points to reimbursement as the root cause.”
Jodi Neuhauser, who shared those words, is cofounder of the Women’s Health political action committee (WHPAC) which is leading efforts to address this crisis.
WHPAC brings together individuals from all political backgrounds to support increased funding, research, and innovation in women's health.
This week, the WHPAC announced that reimbursement reform in women’s health will be its key focus for change in 2025. A landmark stakeholder summit is planned for March and a policy roadmap for change will be published later this year.
The WHPAC hopes to collaborate with clinicians, payers, innovators, policy leaders, hospital systems and more on the systemic reform that’s urgently needed.
Fixing reimbursement may not be a glamorous or even headline grabbing story, but it’s about so much more than updating administrative structures.
Addressing a root issue like reimbursement reform has real potential to unlock growth, investment and innovation in women’s health.
Continue reading our full story.
💰 Funding, deals and investment news
📌 AUSTRALIA: Ovum raises $1.7 million for women’s AI health assistant. Ovum is building an holistic AI health assistant for women that integrates medical records, biometric data from wearables and self-logged menstrual tracking. Women will then be able to ask questions and track health issues while maintaining privacy via the Ovum app. Clinical trials are planned for 2025. This funding round was led by Giant Leap. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)
📌 US: Delfina Care raises $17m to expand AI-powered maternal health. Addressing the maternal health crisis needs a multi-facted approach: better access to quality care, reducing inequities and making good use of technology. Delfina’s AI-powered, data-driven care platform enables prenatal care teams to identify high-risk pregnancies early and intervene. This Series A round was led by U.S Venture Partners (USVP). (Continue reading: Hit Consultant)
📌 US: Sunfish raises $10m for IVF financing and support. Sunfish offers patients who are self-paying for fertility treatment options such as fixed prices for unlimited transfers and customised refunds across 14 clinic locations, as well as financial loans across nearly 100 locations. This Series A round was led by Haymaker Ventures. (Continue reading: Axios (paywall)
📌 UK: FemTech start-ups share in £3.75 million Innovate UK ‘Women in Innovation’ Awards. A total of 50 start-ups, including FemTech businesses The Daughters of Mars (menstrual care), Boost (breast protheses), BirthGlide (medical device), and Bloomful (gynae health app) have each been awarded £75,000. The awards follow the controversial u-turn last September when it was revealed that Innovate UK planned to halve the number of grants on offer. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)
🌟 Industry news from this week
📌 CANADA: Reya Health launches app to simplify finding the right birth control. Poor support and education have led to low birth control adherence in Canada, with 50% of Gen Z stopping birth control due to side effects. Reya Health’s proprietary app, available to individuals or through insurance providers and benefit plans, helps match users to the best birth control for them. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)
📌 US: Mirvie's technology can predict severe growth restriction in pregnancy - a leading cause of stillbirth. After a review of 50,000 pregnancies, Mirvie’s platform has uncovered a previously unknown, unique molecular signal for babies at risk. It successfully predicted 60% of babies with severe fetal growth restriction months in advance of delivery - currently 70% of babies are missed by standard ultrasound. The discovery means that a simple blood test now holds promise to identify issues around week 18-22 of pregnancy. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)
📌 UK: Bayer Consumer Health enters menopause category with education hub and product range. Supplements and a vaginal dryness gel form part of new brand ‘CanesMeno’, now available exclusively in high street pharmacy chain Boots. The education hub includes symptom tracking and tips from specialists. A global launch is planned for the range. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)
📌 US: Gameto launches phase 3 fertility trial. In December, Gameto announced a world-first baby born from eggs matured outside of the body. The start-up is now progressing its US regulatory approval in this upcoming trial. Gameto’s fertility technology ’Fertilo’ is said to replace up to 80% of the hormone injections associated with IVF, reducing treatment cycles to just three days, and has already secured regulatory clearance in key markets outside of the US. (Continue reading: Clinical trials arena)
🩸 Research and women’s health news
📌 US: Are all menopause supplements hype? This plant-based treatment is working to prove otherwise. Sweeping claims and a lack of evidence are casting a shadow over even reputable companies in the menopause space. In this guest post, Natasha Meinertzhagen, Founder and CEO of Terra Botanicals, explains how she is gathering evidence about the efficacy of plant-based cannabinoids for menopause symptoms, by partnering with Washington State University. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth) PS - you can also take part in this observational trial if you are a U.S resident. More info here.
📌 GLOBAL: Exosomes and women’s health - the science and the therapeutic potential. Exosomes have been found to regulate immune responses, promote cell growth and even repair damaged tissue. For this reason, they’re gaining traction in women’s health in areas including fertility, skincare, bone health and mental health. In this guest article, Melissa Barrall guides us through the potential applications and start-ups innovating in this space. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)
📌 US: Women’s pelvic tissue tears during childbirth unstudied, until now. The mechanics of surgical cuts (aka episiotomies) during childbirth are largely a mystery - we don’t know why some incisions spread or tear and others don’t. Now a $600k grant to UC Riverside and Northern Arizona University will aim to pave the way for safer, more effective surgical practices. (Continue reading: UC Riverside)
📄 Govt & policy news
📌 UK: Government launches world-leading AI trial to tackle breast cancer. Nearly 700,000 women across England will take part in this test of how cutting-edge AI tools can be used to catch breast cancer cases earlier. The EDITH trial (‘Early Detection using Information Technology in Health’) is backed by £11 million of government support. Currently two specialists are needed per mammogram screening. This technology enables just one to complete the same mammogram screening process safely and efficiently. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)
📌 UK: Why has the government has abandoned pledges on women’s health spending. Pre-election, Labour’s manifesto promised that ‘never again will women’s health be neglected.’ Yet critics say a rollback is already apparent with no mention of women in new NHS operational guidance and a dropping of targets for establishing women’s health hubs in every region of England. The government meanwhile says it will be focusing on reducing waiting lists. (Continue reading: Women’s Health Magazine)
✅ Jobs
📌 US: Head of Provider Partnerships, Evvy
📌 CANADA: Director, People Operations, Knix
📌 SWEDEN: Head of Growth, Hormona
📌 UK: Business Development Manager (Women’s Health), Oshun Labs
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.