💌 We're back: 5 stories reshaping women's health this summer

Your weekly briefing on women's health innovation and FemTech.

Aug 27, 2025

Hello and welcome to issue #111 of FutureFemHealth (w/c August 25 2025) — where 8,500 innovators and investors stay ahead of the innovations, deals, and ideas transforming women’s health.

It’s wonderful to be back in your inbox after my summer break. I’m writing from Denmark, where I’ve just relocated with my family from London (my husband has joined LEGO, so there’s been many weekends spent at Legoland already). This week I’m swapping rollercoasters for TechBBQ in Copenhagen, where FemTech is firmly on the agenda with a dedicated session, demo lounge and side events.

🌟 Coming up today we’ve got:

✍🏻 My wrap-up of five stories that shaped women’s health innovation this summer.
❤️ How you can help shape the future of FutureFemHealth

Got news to share? Drop me a line at anna@futurefemhealth.com (and I’m equally happy to provide Legoland Denmark itineraries!)

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✍🏻 Five stories reshaping women’s health this summer

Instead of my usual weekly digest this week, here’s a recap of the five stories I’ve been tracking most closely this summer - each with ripple effects worth watching.

1. Flo Health settles ahead of jury trial

Flo Health’s settlement (which they shared details on here) closed the chapter on what could have been a landmark jury trial around health data privacy.

They were accused of sharing millions of women’s health records with Meta and Google (although a judge said these claims lacked evidence).

But the story here is bigger than Flo Health.

It’s about the industry’s most valuable currency: trust. When regulation is patchy, founders set the standards and one high-profile issue risk impacting everyone.

And that fallout is already here. Meta - which was found to have violated privacy law in this case - rolled out a sweeping health policy earlier this year whereby health and wellness brands can no longer share certain information for advertising.

While protecting users matters, in practice these restrictions cripple women’s health companies’ ability to advertise - making it harder for women to discover products and innovations that might help them. (This video from founder Irene Breen who sells pregnancy pillows is a case in point).

Instead of engaging with the challenge of protecting the sensitive health data of users, it appears that Meta has simply shut the door. Without a more nuanced solution, many startups in femtech will face far higher acquisition costs, slower growth and throttled impact.

I’m exploring this issue in more depth through my work at CensHERship - do sign our open letter to be added to our mailing list for updates.

2. Whoop and the blurred line between wellness vs medical devices.

Ok, not strictly a women’s health story per se, but one with sector-wide consequences.

The quick catch-up: Whoop is defending its blood pressure insights feature as ‘wellness only’ - side-stepping FDA medical device approval. The FDA meanwhile, argues that if it functions like a medical device, it is one.

We know that healthtech companies often tread this line to reach market faster. But as I’ve written before on this topic of blurred lines, the consumer lens is important too - after all, if consumers can’t tell the difference and might believe they’re using a tool that is something it’s actually not, isn’t that key for both trust (there’s that word again) and safety?

This story matters because if the FDA rules against Whoop there may be stricter rules coming, meaning potentially more hurdles getting to market and tougher investor confidence in the space.

(For a deeper dive, I can’t recommend highly enough Blythe Karow’s excellent Substack series where she breaks down the case and the evidence.

3. Women’s health wearables: Oura leads, Ultrahuman enters the chat, Movano stumbles?

Wearables are fast becoming core infrastructure for women’s health innovation - engines supercharging everything from fertility tracking to menopause support.

This summer:

Oura added new perimenopause and pregnancy features, while further cementing its position as the default wearable partner (the latest being Evernow).
Ultrahuman staked a claim more firmly in women’s health through its acquisition of viO Healthtech. The deal enabled it to launch improved cycle and ovulation tracking, particularly targeting those with irregular cycles.
But Movano’s Evie Ring - once hyped as the first women’s health-dedicated wearable - appears to be continuing to face major struggles and as it also continues to assess the possibility of a sale.

So, while Oura still dominates in women’s health wearables, it’s great to see more choice opening up while consolidation looks likely too.

4. Menopause goes mainstream in supplements, while the normalisation of hormone therapy continues

From Midi to Dove, brands are aggressively expanding into perimenopause and menopause supplements.

Yes consumer demand has been growing for several years now, but Dove’s supplement launch is a particularly hot signal given the size of its brand.

Meanwhile, the normalisation of hormone therapy continues. In the US with calls for the removal of ‘black box’ warnings on the non-systemic vaginal oestrogen to reflect latest science. And the UK’s regulator, the MHRA, has approved the first testosterone cream for postmenopausal women, paving the way for it to be available from next year. Already Australia, New Zealand and South Africa license AndroFeme, a cream specifically formulated for women.

5. Serena serves up a new narrative on GLP-1s

The GLP-1 story is constantly evolving. And this summer Serena William became the new face of Ro’s campaign, openly sharing that she’s used the drug after struggling to lose weight after having her children.

Her involvement (a smart move given her husband is a Ro investor), reframes the conversation once again. GLP-1s no longer need to be positioned solely as clinical tools for diabetes or obesity management. They’ve now crossed into lifestyle choice, with aesthetics brought to the forefront.

So as one stigma breaks down (I’m seeing a lessening of the ‘shame’ of using GLP-1s and being perceived as ‘cheating’ weight loss), another risk emerges - the re-centering of thinness as our societal ideal. Will we see a new wave of stigma tied to women’s health and weight?

BONUS STORY: Gates Foundation commits $2.5 billion to women’s health

And of course, I couldn’t end the wrap-up without mentioning the incredible pledge in women’s health research and development from the Gates Foundation. The focus will be on maternal, menstrual, gynaecological and sexual health, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

A huge win for the sector, though also a reminder that philanthropy is still plugging gaps where commercial and government funding lags.

Yet if this funding generates fresh evidence and validated priority areas in women’s health, it could unlock a ‘flywheel’ effect, drawing in more investors, partners and innovator to accelerate women’s health solutions at scale.

A last word then from Dr Anita Zaidi, president of the Gates Foundation’s Gender Equality Division:

“Women’s health is not just a philanthropic cause—it’s an investable opportunity with immense potential for scientific breakthroughs that could help millions of women. What’s needed is the will to pursue and follow through.
“We want this investment to spark a new era of women-centered innovation—one where women's lives, bodies, and voices are prioritized in health R&D.”

That’s all for this week! I’ll be back next week with our regular weekly round-up. If you’ve missed any previous newsletter issues catch them all at futurefemhealth.com and do make sure to follow us on LinkedIn.

PS. Before you go - here’s that survey link again to give your feedback on FutureFemHealth (it take 2 minutes!)