India Funding News:
- Healthcare Edtech Startup Virohan Bags $7 Mn In Funding Round Led By Blume Venture – The round also saw participation from Bharat Inclusion Seed Fund, Rebright Partners and Lesing Artha Limited. This brings the total capital raised by the startup to $11 Mn to date.
- Kiran Mazumdar Shaw leads investment in women’s health platform Gytree – Gytree announced its first round of fundraising led by Biocon’s Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Rainmatter Investments, Ajay Srinivasan former CEO, Aditya Birla Capital, Anubhuti Sharma, Millie Clinic, San Francisco amongst others. Gytree.com uses technology to provide women with an intelligent dashboard, world-class experts and personalised journeys for better health outcomes.
- Healthcare AI startup Qritive has said it has raised $7.5 million in a funding round led by MassMutual SEEDS Capital and Exfinty Venture Partners also participated in the round – Qritive provides fast and accurate interpretations of pathology for cancer diagnosis, enhancing imaging accuracy and improving health outcomes with the assistance of AI-based solutions.
- Senior care services provider Athulya has raised Rs 77 crore ($9.3 million) from North Haven India Infrastructure Partners, a fund managed by Morgan Stanley India Infrastructure – Athulya currently manages over 400 assisted living beds across multiple facilities in Chennai and Bengaluru, and has cumulatively served over 20,000 seniors since inception.
Budget 2023:
- This Budget may consider launching an expansion scheme for health care. Like the PLI schemes for industries, incentives for the upgradation of small clinics/nursing homes into 50-bed hospitals and smaller hospitals into larger hospitals may be launched. The support can be in the form of capital, tax and operating incentives.
- In line with the assurance in National Health Policy 2017, the Government of India (GoI), through state and local governments, has been focusing on strengthening healthcare infrastructure and services at the primary care level by investing in health and wellness centres and making commitments under 15th finance commission
- Further, the budget may consider incentivizing the development of medico-cities in larger cities through capital incentives, the creation of common infrastructure, and the blending of the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) scheme for individual units that set up institutions within the designated medico-city.
FemTech News:
- About 1% of healthcare research and innovation is invested in female-specific conditions beyond oncology.Over its 22 years
- Despite women being more than 50% of the population and sex-based differences influencing all tissues, organs, and bodily functions, little attention has been made to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of women’s unique health needs, according to McKinsey.
- State Bank of India took an initiative to educate girls of Bhavnagar District Govt schools about menstruation and distributed Pee Safe’s reusable sanitary pads. SBI Foundation took this initiative under their CSR program. They distributed 1350 pads to the district of Bhavnagar in the first phase.
- PeeSafe has partnered with Redcliffe Labs to boost health and wellness with the best of personal hygiene and diagnostic products.
- In 2006, VCs invested only $143 million in women’s healthcare, according to PitchBook.
- CK Kumaravel and Veena Kumaravel, Entrepreneurs and Founders of Naturals Salon and Spa participated in CysterCare’s #UnlearnUnconsciousBiases Campaign which focused on unlearning unconscious habits of commenting on someone’s physical appearance.
- As per a Forbes article, female founders are energizing Investment In Women’s Healthcare. More expected in 2023
- As per Digital Health’s article, Narrow approvals for medical devices are likely to continue. While outliers exist, most companies producing Food and Drug Administration-approved technologies are seeking narrow regulatory approval for specific components of their devices.
Global Companies:
- According to researchers with the University of Chicago, increasing financial compensation could drive more diverse clinical trial participation
- The Global Consortium for Reproductive Longevity and Equality (GCRLE) in 2023 will continue to research the potential discovery of novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets for diagnosing and treating female infertility and menopause.
- The US virtual healthcare provider CirrusMD has launched new abortion referral services to help women access abortion care safely. CirrusMD aims to expand access to care for all people, especially those who feel underserved by the US healthcare system.
- An online survey of US women between 18 and 64, conducted by The Harris Poll, found that 71 per cent of respondents have delayed getting a Pap test, also known as a smear test.
- Embr Labs announced new distribution partnerships to make its thermal wearable for menopause symptoms widely available online. The Embr Wave is a wristband for hot flash relief that aims to help women have more control over their skin temperature during menopause.
FemTech India Member Highlight:
- GynoCup was selected as one of the brands for YourStory Media, 500 Challenger Brands Initiative
- Femisafe was selected as one of the brands for YourStory Media, 500 Challenger Brands Initiative
- Salad has launched happy hormones guide – Get exclusive discounts, early access, and great rewards from the best brands from across India.
Drugs, Diagnostics, and Pharma:
- BDR Pharmaceutical announced that it has launched a new drug Palbociclib with the brand name ‘BDPALBO’ for the advanced treatment of metastatic breast cancer in India. It will be made available in three strengths ie – 125mg, 100mg, and 75mg capsules priced at ₹ 3,150 for 75 mg, ₹ 3,600 for 100 mg & ₹ 4,464 for 125 mg.
- Global pharma major Lupin Limited on Tuesday announced that it has received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA), Prasugrel Tablets USP, 5 mg and 10 mg, a generic equivalent of Efficient Tablets, 5 mg and 10 mg of Cosette Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The product will be manufactured at Lupin’s facility in Goa, India.
- Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc. launched Bumetanide Injection USP, 1 mg/4 mL (0.25 mg/mL) Single-Dose Vials and 2.5 mg/10 mL (0.25 mg/mL) Multi-Dose Vials, the generic version of Bumex Injection, 0.25 mg/mL, of Validus Pharmaceuticals LLC.
Government News:
- Bihar’s Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced that the government is trying to set up at least one medical college and hospital in every district and is “working tirelessly” to augment health infrastructure so that people do not have to go outside the state for better treatment.
- The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has fixed retail prices of 36 formulations under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013. The formulations for which the prices have been fixed include various strengths of anti-diabetic drug sitagliptin phosphate and metformin hydrochloride tablets manufactured by Pure and Cure Healthcare Pvt Ltd and marketed by Natco Pharma.
- Indian pharma and healthcare sectors look for supportive policies, simplified regulations and GST norms. This according to them will give a fillip to the growth of these sectors. Hence they are looking up to the Union Budget 2023 to fulfil their expectations.
- The National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) has suspended the accreditation of 80 labs in the country for non-compliance to norms. These include seven calibration laboratories, 58 medical laboratories and 15 testing laboratories. The suspension status is imposed for a maximum period of six months for the scope of accreditation and if not lifted, then accreditation will be withdrawn.
Research, Insights, and Market Projections:
- GlobalData, a data and analytics company, said that genomics holds the potential to enhance the speed of diagnosis and provide opportunities to personalize patient treatment approaches. This can happen with continuous advancements in sequencing and data analysing technologies.
- A report released by UNICEF has revealed that Around 1.9 million stillbirths – babies born with no sign of life at 28 weeks of pregnancy or later – occurred worldwide in 2021.According to the data released, one stillborn baby is born every 16 seconds in 2021. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), many of these deaths could have been prevented with equitable access and high-quality maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health care.
Jobs on Board:
- Syrona Hygiene is looking for a copywriter. Sirona is a menstrual hygiene and intimate product startup. It is behind India’s first herbal pain patches for menstrual cramps
- Allo Health is looking for Customer Relationships – Inside Sales. Allo is India’s first digital health clinic for sexual well-being
- Newmi Care is looking for Graphic Designers. Newmi is a Digital Health and Commerce platform and is India’s first products and services ecosystem focused on the health and wellness of women
- Hera is hiring a Clinical cum Corporate Events Manager. Hera is a wellness and fitness services provider based in Hyderabad
