💌 Issue 108: Women's health leaders call on big tech | Escala's $4.5m for POP device | UK roll-out for Carevix | 'Plastic-free' periods row
+ lots more in your weekly round-up of women's health and FemTech news
Hello and welcome to issue #108 of FutureFemHealth (w/c June 30 2025).
🌟 Coming up today we’ve got:
🏆 Women’s health leaders demand big tech end social media censorship
📌 Escala completes $4.5 million funding round for pelvic organ prolapse device 'Mendit’.
💊 UK roll-out for soft-suction coil fitting device Carevix
🔥 Here We Flo and Mooncup row over ‘plastic-free’ pledges
With thanks to this week’s sponsor, 42 Technology…
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💪🏼 Hundreds of women’s health leaders sign open letter to demand end to social media and online censorship
More than 190 women’s health leaders - including representatives from Clue, Essity (Bodyform), Love Honey, Evofem Biosciences, WUKA, Daye, HANX, Bea Fertility and more - have co-signed an open letter calling on social media platforms to end the routine censorship of women’s health content online. (Full story here)
Published by CensHERship and The Case For Her, the letter exposes how medically accurate, non-sexual content is routinely flagged, removed, or hidden under vague and biased moderation policies. Topics like menstruation, menopause, libido, postpartum recovery, and fertility are being silenced — simply for naming the realities of the female body.
New report: Censorship Revealed
The open letter is backed by a newly published whitepaper, “Censorship Revealed” which compiles more than a year’s worth of evidence, survey data, and case studies from women’s health brands and content creators.
The report shows how censorship is not only reinforcing harmful stigma but is actively restricting public access to vital health information and stifling innovation in a market expected to exceed $97 billion globally by 2030.
It calls for social media platforms to update their policies and apply them consistently and fairly to unlock this barrier for women’s health.
Full disclosure: some of you will know that I’m one of the co-founders of CensHERship (along with Clio Wood, of &breathe wellbeing), the group behind this campaign.
Our report has been 15+ months in the making. Many of you reading this newsletter have contributed to our surveys, spoken to us on calls, attended a roundtable or volunteered as a case study.
It’s a complex and long-standing issue that, honestly, can sometimes feel like wading through treacle.
But, I remain confident that we can make this situation better.
If you have a few minutes today, please add your support:
📣 share on social media (we have a toolkit here too!)
It’s time to level the playing field for women’s health content.
💰 Funding, deals and investment news
📌 ISRAEL: Escala completes $4.5 million funding round for pelvic organ prolapse device 'Mendit’. Pelvic organ prolapse affects up to half of women over 50, causing organs like the bladder or uterus to shift into the vaginal canal due to weakened pelvic muscles. Traditional treatments can be surgically invasive or rely on pessaries, which often require ongoing maintenance. Escala instead offers a simpler, office-based procedure that anchors the vaginal wall in place, enabling faster recovery and broader access for women worldwide. This fresh funding round came from private investors and co-financing from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund. It will support international expansion with a focus on the US and Southeast Asia. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)
📌 CANADA: Juniper Genomics lands $4.6m seed funding to launch world-first whole-genome embryo test. Juniper’s promise is more clarity during the IVF process and fewer failed embryo transfers thanks to its new standard in embryo screening. Its proprietary screening test could replace most existing forms of preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) and expand the scope of analysis to include thousands of genetic variants associated with IVF failure, miscarriage and postnatal health conditions. Early adopter clinics in North America are currently testing out Juniper. This funding round was led by Company Ventures. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)
🌟 Industry news from this week
📌 UK: Aspivix set for UK distribution with device to help reduce pain of coil fittings. Pain during IUD insertion remains a persistent barrier to uptake, with global estimates suggesting up to 45% of women are deterred by fear of the procedure. Much of this anxiety stems from the standard cervical tenaculum, still widely used despite its known association with discomfort and trauma. Aspivix’s Carevix soft-suction device is a gentler alternative. Now, after regulatory approval last year and a pilot at Peterborough City Hospital, Aspivix is ramping up rollout of its ‘Carevix’ device across the UK, partnering with national distributor AGHealth. (Continue reading: FutureFemHealth)
📌 UK: Here We Flo pulls ‘plastic-free’ pledge amid row over green claims. The sustainable period care brand Here We Flo, which launched in 2017 selling “plant powered” pads and liners that are “100% free of nasties”, is removing the terms “plastic-free” and “no synthetic fibres” from its packaging. However, it says a report accusing it of greenwashing - which was commissioned by its rival Mooncup - is flawed and contains inaccuracies. Here We Flo also said that the “optics of such a male attack on a female-owned company in relation to feminine hygiene” would not go unnoticed. (Continue reading: The Guardian)
📆 Save the date
100 female founders: HealthTech Innovators meetup at Barclays: London, 22 July, 8am- 11am
Join us on a mission to get 100 female founders and women’s health innovators in one room before the summer holidays!
FutureFemHealth is excited to be a collaborator on this meetup hosted by Barclays Innovation Hub in collaboration with the brilliant team at Nexus as well as WEALTH, Hotbed, and NXGN.
🔥 Find out more and reserve your space here. (Hurry, spaces are booking fast!) Look forward to seeing you there!
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.
SO glad you brought this to our attention! Censorship of women's health products and services benefits exactly no one. Signed the letter and will share :)