💌 Issue 99: Two major acquisitions in women's health | supporting breast cancer survivors | $100m for autoimmune therapies | pivotal study on fertility preservation
+ lots more in your weekly round-up of women's health innovation and FemTech news
Hi! Welcome to issue #99 of FutureFemHealth (w/c April 28 2025).
🌟 Coming up today we’ve got:
🤝 Two major acquisitions in women’s health
❤️ The Danish start-up supporting survivors of breast cancer
💰 $100m funding for Granite Bio to develop autoimmune therapies
🌎 A pivotal study on fertility preservation begins at first U.S clinical site
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
🏆 LifeMD: the new champion for midlife health?
There’s a new player in the women’s health virtual care space in the U.S - and it’s going to be a very interesting one to watch.
This week, LifeMD, a virtual primary care provider, announced the acquisition of Optimal Human Health MD, a platform specialising in osteoporosis care. (Read our full story here).
LifeMD says it will now launch a dedicated women’s health vertical within its existing virtual care platform. The new services, due to launch this summer, will focus on menopause, hormones, bone health and long-term wellness.
Midlife health remains a massively underserved space, ripe for new entrants like LifeMD.
According to Boston Consulting Group, the combined market for menopause and osteoporosis-related care could reach $60–70 billion by 2030. And just last month Amboy Street Ventures identified menopause as one of the key ‘ghost markets’ where there is significant unmet need.
In real terms only one in four women seek treatment for menopause-related symptoms, and while women account for 80% of osteoporosis cases, more than two-thirds are undiagnosed.
What to expect
This deal brings in Optimal’s Dr Doug Lucas, a recognized expert in osteoporosis and hormones.
That feels to me especially relevant since LifeMD also already sells GLP-1 treatments for weight loss or diabetes - medications that we know have raised concerns about potential bone loss, particularly in midlife and postmenopausal women. I’m seeing wraparound support for weight management becoming a growing priority for digital providers.
Also notable is LifeMD’s infrastructure. It’s not just another D2C play like a Hims & Hers, it’s more of a hybrid model - combining virtual care with a national provider network, insurance coverage, in-house pharmacy and lab partnerships. It looks to be aiming for something closer to Midi Health - clinically grounded and digitally delivered.
LifeMD has also done this before. It’s scaled RexMD in men’s health and now it’s applying that experience to women.
And finally, there’s this statement from the press release: LifeMD says it aims to build “what we believe will be the most comprehensive virtual-first women’s health offering in the country.”
Like I said, it’s one to watch.
💰 Funding, deals and investment news
📌 DENMARK: Cacto Health raises DKK 3M ($457USD) to develop lymphedema detection device for breast cancer survivors. One in five women who survive breast cancer will develop lymphedema, a chronic buildup of fluid that causes pain, swelling, and reduced mobility - often for life. Cacto Health is developing an at-home device which monitors and detects early signs of fluid buildup in just five minutes a week - compared to the current method of manual measurement which often happens only once the arm is enlarged by at least 10%. The startup - a spinout from Aarhas University - secured funding from EIFO, Innovation Fund Denmark’s Innobooster programme, and several business angels. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)
📌 SWITZERLAND: Granite Bio launches with $100M to develop autoimmune therapies. Up to 80% of autoimmune disease cases are women, so innovators in this field are crucial part of addressing women’s health. Granite Bio's approach targets the underlying mechanisms of these diseases, aiming to provide more effective and personalized treatments. The biotech has been backed by Versant Ventures, Norvartis, Forbion and Sanofi, with this latest round of $70m a Series B. (Continue reading: Biopharma Dive)
📌 U.S: Coologics raises $3m in oversubscribed seed round to develop drug-free vaginal infection treatments. Treating vaginal infections without the use of antibiotics is the goal for Coologics. Its flagship product Vlisse is a tampon-like insert which uses a patented cooling mechanism. There’s hot investor confidence in this start-up too, significantly surpassing an initial target of $1.5m. The round was led by Prevail Ventures and Dream Ventures with participation from the uni alumni networks of founders Dr Kim Langdon and Dr Nicole Williams too! (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)
📌 U.S: Overture Life secures $20.6M to sdvance IVF automation. Overture aims to make IVF simpler, safer and less reliant on complex lab set-ups. its DaVitri™ platform automates key steps like egg freezing and embryo warming - helping standardize procedures, reduce costs and potentially improve success rates. It could also boost accessibility: by streamlining lab workflows Overture could expand fertility care beyond major clinics, reaching more people who currently lack access. This new funding round, backed by investors including GV and Khosla Ventures, will support further clinical research and product development. It brings total funding to $57m. (Continue reading: HIT Consultant)
📌 U.S: Ovo Labs debuts with £4m seed to tackle egg quality and reproductive longevity. Egg quality is a critical factor in fertility. Ovo Labs has developed three methods to rejuvenate human eggs as women get older. By helping to increase the number of viable eggs, they aim to extend the reproductive window, empowering more people to have children at a time that feels right to them. This round was co-led by Creator Fund and Local Globe. (Continue reading: UK Tech News)
📌 U.S: Granata Bio acquires Oviva Therapeutics to tackle ovarian aging and fertility challenges. With infertility rates rising and ovarian aging emerging as a key challenge in women’s health, Granata Bio has acquired Oviva Therapeutics — a biotech developing OVI-586, a first-of-its-kind therapy designed to extend ovarian function. The drug could open new doors in IVF, menopause care, and birth control by targeting the root causes of reproductive decline. No deal terms disclosed. The news follows Granata’s Series A+ in January of this year. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)
🌟 Industry news from this week
📌 U.S: Evvy partners with fertility clinics to probe link between vaginal microbiome and IVF outcomes. Research has pointed to microbial imbalances as a possible factor in IVF failure, pregnancy loss, and preterm birth — but testing for these imbalances has yet to become part of routine fertility care. This large patient study could bring answers helping doctors and patients to make more personalized, informed decisions about care. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)
📌 U.S: Faster, easier, fertility preservation: Gameto opens first U.S clinical site for pivotal Fertilo study. Gameto’s technology matures eggs outside of the body - a less invasive and easier way for women to preserve their fertility. This study will evaluate its efficacy and safety. There’s broader promise for this tech too - earlier this year Gameto announced a world-first baby born in Peru thanks to Fertilo, in an IVF process with much fewer injections and a shortened cycle. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)
📄 Govt & policy news
📌 U.S: Tracking the $30m of women’s health funding cuts so far in 2025. Media platform Maternie has rounded up all the cuts to women’s health so far this year - including to the Women’s Health Initiative (now supposedly reversed), the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, the Assisted Reproductive Technology Surveillance Team and more. Plus: if you have any tips on funding cuts, fill out this form (no log-in required) (Continue reading: Maternie)
📆 Save the date
📌 NYC - Meet the author! Unlocking Women’s Health by Dr Brittany Barreto: NYC, Friday May 16, 2025. This inspiring night will feature networking, discussion and a book signing - all in the luxurious setting of VSPOT, New York’s premier intimate health and wellness destination. ✨ If you already own a copy of Unlocking Women’s Health use promocode BOOK for a discounted ticket. Get your ticket here.
📌 VIRTUAL - FemTech Focus Book Club with Marina Gerner: TONIGHT! 4PM PT / 7PM EST / Midnight in UK. Dive into The Vagina Business and all things women’s health innovation, where author Marina Gerner will join book club hosts Susan Stover, Karen Wells and Jacob Csuy. Register here for free.
🎧 This week’s FemTech Focus podcast
Light therapy for vaginitis: Cern’s Drug-free revolution with Dr Melanie Santos.
💥 An episode is packed with clinical insight, emerging tech, and candid conversations about what women really experience — and what the future of vaginal care could look like. 🎧 Listen now or watch on YouTube
✅ Jobs
📌 U.S: Practice Partnership Manager, Seven Starling
📌 U.S: Master Scheduler, Midi Health
📌 U.S: Clinical Director, Women’s Health, Oura
📌 U.S: Social and Content Lead, Evvy
📌 DENMARK: CEO & Co-founder for Nordic Women’s Health Hub
📌 SWEDEN: Nordic Brand Manager, Natural Cycles
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.
