Issue # 142 – 💰 Luma Fertility raises $4M seed round | AI outpaces doctors in diagnosis | Mayo Clinic’s AI leap in dementia care

✨Hey there! You’re reading the free edition of the FemTech India newsletter — your go-to source for the latest in women’s health, industry updates, and opportunities to help you navigate what’s next in your journey.

• Will AI replace doctors? Microsoft says its tool can diagnose illness 4 times faster than medicos The study found that Microsoft’s health AI tool gets to the correct diagnosis more cost-effectively than physicians
• UK Launches AI Warning System to Detect NHS Patient Safety Risks Early. The system aims to prevent harm by identifying safety risks before they escalate, with rollout work already in progress.

• Fertility startup Luma Fertility raises $4 million from Peak XV’s Surge fund, others
• Mayo Clinic has received a landmark $50 Mn gift from philanthropists Gilchrist and Amy Berg of Ponte Vedra, Florida, to advance global healthcare innovation.
• MediShout, a London, UK- based startup that connects hospitals with medical suppliers, raised $9m in Series A funding. The round was led by Heal Capital, with participation from Nickleby Capital and Meridian Health Ventures.
• Circulate Health, a Novato, CA-based longevity startup which specializes in therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) to advance human healthspan and lifespan, raised $12M in Seed funding.
• OutSee, a Cambridge, UK-based genomics and drug discovery company, raised £1.8M in Seed funding. The round was led by Ahren Innovation Capital and with investment from Kadmos Capital, Empirical Ventures and Panacea Ventures.
• Synaptive Medical, a Toronto, Canada-based global medical technology provider, received a strategic investment.
• NiaHealth, a Toronto, Canada-based health tech startup providing proactive care, raised $5.75M in Seed funding.
• Sama Fertility aised $3.8 million from SNR Ventures, with additional investment from Ford Street Ventures, Artesian, Rootspring Ventures, and the Sequoia Scout Program.
  
• Beech Biotech has been awarded a $1.9 million grant from the Gates Foundation to advance its “Mother-Only” monoclonal antibody treatment for preeclampsia toward clinical development. The funding supports development of the company’s lead asset MOm303, designed to treat maternal complications without exposing fetuses to therapeutic agents.

Sonal Pendharkar Kulkarni | Co-Founder & Chief Scientific Officer, Uvisa Health 

From the lab bench in Stockholm to leading a FemTech revolution in Copenhagen, meet Dr. Sonal, a scientist-turned-founder on a mission to redefine vaginal health.

With a Ph.D. in Medical Science and over a decade of research in the vaginal microbiome, Sonal is now building Uvisa, the world’s first home-use, drug-free vaginal phototherapy device to treat infections like BV and thrush. 

She says : “I believe FemTech can revolutionize healthcare by finally addressing the needs of half the population that’s been ignored for far too long.”

Read the full article

• ICMR study identifies 54 high-priority districts in South India with HIV burden. Experts highlighted the need to strengthen existing prevention, diagnosis and treatment strategies to accelerate progress toward the goal of ending AIDS by 2030
• In a startling new discovery, scientists at IIT Bombay have found that a common structural protein in our body—collagen—might be silently worsening type 2 diabetes. The study, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, sheds light on a previously unknown biological trigger that could open up new frontiers in diabetes treatment.
• Sedentary behaviour is already linked to a variety of health issues, and a new study published in BMC Public Health adds neck pain to the list. The research suggests that prolonged sitting can significantly increase the risk of developing serious neck pain. Globally, around 70 per cent of people experience neck pain at least once in their lives.
• Healthcare systems have trivialised menstrual pain for decades, treating it as more of an inconvenience than a genuine medical issue. In her article in Medical Humanities, Jada Wiggleton-Little notes that painful periods also referred to as dysmenorrhea, are frequently presented as ‘natural’ and therefore not deserving of concern or inquiry.
• In what could be a potential breakthrough in the treatment of type 1 diabetes, a novel stem cell therapy named zimislecel has demonstrated promising results in an early-phase clinical trial. The therapy, which involves transplantation of fully differentiated islet cells derived from stem cells, enabled 83 per cent of trial participants to stop using insulin entirely within a year of receiving the full dose.
• WHO releases report on origins of COVID-19, suggests zoonotic spillover to be the cause. WHO stated that the work to understand the origins of SARS-CoV-2 remains unfinished and welcomes any further evidence on the origins of COVID-19
• India among the eight countries with half of the world’s unvaccinated children as of 2023: Lancet study. Global inequalities, COVID-19 pandemic challenges, and the growth of vaccine misinformation and hesitancy have all contributed to faltering immunisation progress.
• Study finds the link between autoimmune conditions and mental health issues, women at higher risk of facing mood disorder. Experts found that people with autoimmune conditions are at double the risk of experiencing persistent mental health issues
• How AI is emerging as a valuable tool in predicting embryo viability. In a country like India, where we are facing a far heavier burden of genetic disorders, the transformation to data-driven approaches holds immense promise.
• A recent study by researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) has uncovered a crucial link that may explain why individuals with Down syndrome develop Alzheimer’s disease earlier and more severely than the general population. The culprit? Excess iron in the brain, which leads to a destructive form of cell death called ferroptosis.
• Lower levels of a gut microbe may help explain why women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) experience fertility issues. New findings suggest that women with PCOS have around half the amount of a gut bacterium called Parabacteroides merdae compared to those without the condition.

• Illumina, a global leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, has announced a definitive agreement with Standard BioTools to acquire SomaLogic, a key player in data-driven proteomics.
• Insight Health, a US-based startup that has launched out of stealth, has introduced patient-facing artificial intelligence agents designed to automate routine clinical workflows.

• The World Health Organization (WHO) has proposed to independently document Karnataka’s Asha Kirana initiative, a community-led eye care program designed to deliver services at people’s doorsteps, as a global model for integrated, people-centered eye health.
• Indian Institute of Science (IISc) scientists have developed a glowing paper sensor for early detection of liver cancer, utilizing the green glow of a rare earth metal called terbium.
• In a significant move aimed at enhancing the well-being of senior citizens, especially in rural areas, AIIMS Jhajjar has launched a dedicated digital portal ”Sahayam”.

📳 – Quick Reads: 

• Are IV Glutathione drips safe for beauty treatments? What you need to know: The drug became the talk of the town again but this time it is being linked to the untimely death of actor-model Shefali Jariwala
• Could erectile dysfunction be the body’s way of hinting at cardiovascular ailments? Studies reveal that men with erectile dysfunction are significantly more likely to develop cardiovascular disease within five years
• Can you get pregnant during perimenopause? Perimenopause is a transition towards menopause, leading towards unstable oestrogen and progesterone levels, which results in irregular menstrual cycles

🎉Have news to share? Publish a press release on FemTech India to reach industry-leading executives, investors, and passionate individuals.

See you next Friday, friends 👋
Navneet

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