Issue 39: Roche's PCOS diagnostic | Unfabled lands $1.6m | why autoimmune diseases affect more women
+ lots more in your weekly round-up of women's health innovation and FemTech news
Hi! Welcome to issue #39 of FutureFemHealth, here to bring you your weekly news about women’s health innovation and FemTech (w/c 5 February 2024).
I was struck by this reel on Instagram over the weekend bringing to life the ongoing inequity in healthcare. Watch and share, if you can.
🌟 Coming up today we’ve got:
🏆 Roche’s diagnostic for PCOS gets CE mark approval
❤️ $1.6m funding for Unfabled women’s health marketplace
💊 Perelel Health lands $6m from Unilever Ventures
👩🏽💻 Researchers explain why autoimmune diseases affect women more
Got news to share from the world of FemTech and women’s health innovation? Let me know at anna@futurefemhealth.com
👩🏽💻 Been censored online? Please share your story
Ads rejected? Accounts banned? Content removed?
These are just some of the everyday experiences of brands, creators and medical professionals when trying to share women’s health and sexual wellness content on social media.
And the same just isn’t happening to similar men’s health content.
FutureFemHealth is partnering with author and &Breathe founder Clio Wood for a campaign to end the routine censorship of women’s health content online.
Help us build a picture of the impact of this censorship so we can influence change.
Please complete this short survey by Tuesday 20 February 2024, so that we can include as many voices as possible. Please share with your networks too!
(Source: FutureFemHealth)
🏆 Roche’s non-invasive diagnostic for PCOS secures CE mark approval
A blood test already used by the NHS as a fertility indicator has received CE mark approval to support the diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
The Roche Elecsys® Anti-Müllerian Hormone (AMH) Plus immunoassay is a non-invasive, easy and accessible way to diagnose PCOS. It can be used an alternative to the transvaginal ultrasound which is often uncomfortable and daunting.
PCOS currently affects 1 in 8 women of reproductive age and those assigned female at birth. While it’s common, 70% of cases at the moment go undiagnosed.
(Source: FutureFemHealth)
💰 Funding, deals and investment news
📌 UK: Unfabled secures $1.6m funding for its destination women’s health marketplace. Since 2021, Unfabled has fast become a go-to platform for women’s sustainable health and wellness products. Founder Hannah Samano and team will use this funding to fuel growth of the Unfabled consumer platform as well as develop in-house data science capabilities and a B2B platform. The vision is that the data it learns from its users can help inform and close the gender health gap. Funding was from Morgan Stanley, Exceptional Ventures and others including angel investors. (Source: FutureFemHealth)
📌 US: Perelel Health lands $6m from Unilever Ventures. Consumers have become more savvy and discerning when shopping for supplements - and this gives evidenced-based challenger brands an opportunity. Now LA-based Perelel, a clinically-proven prenatal and postnatal supplement, has secured $6m in series A funding from Unilever Ventures. It’s the second time Unilever Ventures has invested in the brand. Other investors were Willow Growth and Selva Ventures. Perelel co-founder Alex Taylor said: “We have a lot of work to do in the women’s health space and we are deeply heartened to see such key investors propelling the category forward.” (Source: Glossy)
📌 US: $2.4m for Aster to improve maternal health outcomes. Pregnancy complications cost the US $54 billion per year and 80% are avoidable. Founded by sisters Dr. Lailah Kara-Newton, MD, and Fifi Kara, Aster enables women's health providers to provide end-to-end pregnancy care for patients through their tech platform. By doing so, Aster is helping predict and prevent avoidable maternal health complications, particularly for underserved communities. Funding was led by Cake Ventures, Cornerstone VC and others as well as angel investors including Black Angel Group. (Source: Aster)
📌 US: Organic period care company LOLA acquired by Forum Brands. After last month’s HoneyPot news, another period care company is acquired in the form of LOLA, first founded in 2014. The buyer, Forum Brands, is an Amazon aggregator - CEO Brenton Howland has previously said that its strategy is to buy high-growth ecommerce businesses focusing on a female demographic aged 25-44 years old. The deal amount on this one was undisclosed. (Source: Modern Retail)
🌟 More news from this week
📌 US: ShiraTronics concludes initial pilot for innovative migraine therapy. Migraine predominantly impacts women - it was in the top three healthcare burdens highlighted in the recent McKinsey report. The ShiraTronics minimally invasive implantable migraine device has unveiled promising results from an initial pilot study in Australia and will soon move to a pivotal clinical trial. (Source: FutureFemHealth)
📌 Have we reached peak menopause marketing? Wherever you turn, there’s a product designed to help women tackle the symptoms of menopause - many of which are eagerly endorsed by celebrities. Even the humble cup of tea has had a meno makeover, with Twinings launching its Superblends Menopause Cool Moments tea bags. Author Sam Baker says: “We want to be heard, listened to, seen. Instead, we get patronised, shafted and fleeced.” (Source: The Daily Mail)
📌 Astellas lowers sales expectations for its menopause drug. The FDA-approved hot flush drug Veozah was hailed as a non-hormonal treatment. But it seems women are not taking up the drug as expected. The company is now lowering its forecasts and preparing for a second year of launching a menopause commercial during the Super Bowl. (Source: End-point news)
🩸 Research and women’s health news
📌 Why we need women-centric cancer care. Right now, cancer care shows significant disparities for women. Women are 34% more likely to experience severe side effects from cancer treatments than men. FemTechnology Summit has outlined a vision for closing the cancer care gap. (Source: FemTechnology Summit)
📌 New study explores why autoimmune diseases affect women more. As many as 80% of people with an autoimmune disease are women. Now Stanford research has shown that it’s all to do with a molecule made by one X chromosome in every female cell which can trigger antibodies to a woman’s own tissues. The reason we’re only discovering this now? Stanford dermatologist Dr Howard Chang explains: “Every cell in a woman’s body produces Xist. But for several decades we’ve used a male cell line as the standard of reference.” (Source: Stanford)
📄 Govt & policy news
📌 US: FDA publishes its 2023 women’s health year in review. The FDA’s Office of Women’s Health has recapped its work in policy, science, education and outreach. This summary shares the full picture. (Source: FDA)
📌 Australia: New Senate Inquiry investigating menopause. After the eye-opening results of a national women’s health survey in 2023, Australia has kick-started a nine-month long inquiry into the impact of menopause on the health and economy. (Source: Marie Claire)
📌 UAE: Women’s health strategy launched. Government and private sectors will work together to champion health research - with focuses on reducing the number of cancer deaths and medical issues arising from unhealthy lifestyles. "Investing in R&D programmes will add value to our GDP and multiply chances for our future generations.” (Source: The National News)
✅ Jobs
📌 Fund Manager, Fierce Foundry (US)
📌 Senior Growth Marketing Associate, Aunt Flow (US)
📌 Senior Product Manager, Organic Growth, Hims and Hers (Remote)
📌 Community and Communication Manager, Exceptional Ventures (London)
That’s all for this week!
Before I go - another quick reminder to please fill in our survey about censorship of women’s health content here by 20 February if you have an experience to share!
Thank you
Anna