Issue # 154 – 🎂 It’s Our Birthday, Celebrating 3 Years of Impact 🎉

✨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.

What started as a vision has now grown into a movement, a thriving ecosystem, a global community of 250+ companies & 400+ founders, investors, and allies for women’s health innovation and impact.  Last year, we launched our Impact Report, a reflection of the changemakers, entrepreneurs, and partners who make this work possible. Every number in it is not just a milestone, but a story of courage, collaboration, and progress in shaping the future of women’s health.

Last year, we launched our first Impact Report, a tribute to the changemakers, entrepreneurs, and partners who make this work possible. Every number in the report tells a story of courage, collaboration, and progress in shaping the future of women’s health –  Report

📄 Our industry reports include:

• The Womxn of FemTech India Ecosystem – Report
• India’s Digital Healthcare Market – Report
• The Future of Pregnancy Care in India – Report
• India’s IVF and Fertility Market – Report
• India’s Trillion-Dollar BioTech & MedTech Opportunity – Report
• India’s Strength in Women’s Health Manufacturing: Made in India – Report
• India, the Next MedTech Hub $95 Billion Opportunity – Report

Every number in it is not just a milestone, but a story of courage, collaboration, and progress in shaping the future of women’s health.

💜 To everyone who has been part of this journey, thank you for your support, belief, and partnership. Here’s to Year 4, with an even bigger vision and greater impact ahead!

• The Gates Foundation has announced to infuse more than $900 million into the global fight against diseases like HIV and malaria. The donation comes as the United States has cut more than $10 billion in foreign and humanitarian aid. The Gates Foundation will give US$912 million (S$1 billion) to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, philanthropist Bill Gates, as he urged governments to reverse global health funding cuts.
• Dutch-Danish diagnostic firm Rapidemic announced on Thursday that it has received a $2.7 million grant from the Gates Foundation to support the development of its molecular platform for the diagnosis of infectious diseases.
• Zealthix, a SaaS-based healthcare platform, has raised $1.1 million in a seed funding round led by Unicorn India Ventures, with participation from AlphaGen Venture Capital. The startup, founded in 2023 by Abhishek Kumar and Avinash Gupta, aims to streamline the delivery of healthcare plans for Payers and Insurers.
• Remedio, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based cybersecurity company developing a platform that delivers real-time device posture management, $65M in its first-ever funding.
• Bonsai Health, a Santa Monica, CA-based provider of an agentic AI platform automating complex healthcare workflows, raised $7M in seed funding.
• Daymark Health, a Philadelphia, PA-based cancer care company, raised $20M in Series A funding.
• Thyme Care, a Nashville, TN-based value-based cancer care enabler, raised $97M in Series D funding.
• Mamedica, a London, UK-based provider of cannabis-based prescription medicines, raised £4.5M in funding.

• A team of Indian researchers has developed a nanomaterial capable of directly interacting with neurons, offering a potential non-invasive approach to treating brain disorders. The study, led by scientists at the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), an autonomous body under the Department of Science and Technology, was published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
• Moving forward, medicines, including several life-saving drugs, and medical devices will become more affordable as the new GST rates come into effect across India. The landmark reforms, announced earlier this month by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, aim to ease the financial burden on patients and improve access to essential healthcare.
• To determine whether rising obesity rates are due to increased food intake or decreased physical activity as societies industrialise, researchers examined daily calorie expenditure, body fat percentage, and body mass index (BMI) in 4,213 adults aged 18 to 60. The participants came from 34 populations across six continents and represented a wide range of lifestyles and economies—including hunter-gatherers, pastoralists, farmers and office workers in industrialised nations.
• Childhood obesity in India is a rapidly escalating public health crisis, with UNICEF predicting India will have the highest number of overweight children globally by 2030. Obesity has emerged as one of the most pressing health challenges of our time. While fitness tips, videos, and quick solutions dominate our screens, it is essential to pause and confront the reality of where we truly stand. In India, this reality is particularly concerning: childhood obesity is rising at an alarming rate, threatening the health of crores of young people. 
• Can mindless scrolling shrink your brain? Brain rot, once internet slang, is now recognized as a cognitive fatigue caused by endless online content, with emerging research suggesting it may lead to reduced grey matter and impaired brain functions like memory and focus.
• A new HIV prevention drug will be made available at a lower cost in over 100 low-income countries within two years — a move expected to give millions access to the breakthrough treatment and potentially bring the world closer to ending the HIV/Aids epidemic. The drug, called Lenacapavir and administered by injection, is due to be rolled out as early as the end of this year, at a cost of $28,000 (£20,000) per person annually.
• Creatine supplements could help with brain fog and poor sleep in perimenopausal and menopausal women, according to new research. Creatine is a naturally occurring compound that supplies energy to muscles. It is widely used by people who exercise, with research showing it can increase strength, improve recovery and support brain health.
• Women in their 80s who had regular mammograms showed a 74 per cent lower risk of dying from breast cancer compared with those who did not undergo screening in a recent study. The study also found screened women had a 55 per cent lower risk of recurrence, were more likely to be diagnosed at an earlier stage and often required less aggressive treatment.
• A cooling wristband device was found to reduce severe hot flash episodes by 46 per cent in breast cancer patients, prostate cancer patients and postmenopausal women, new research has shown. The device reduced severe episodes by 41 per cent in breast cancer patients and 50 per cent in prostate cancer patients and postmenopausal women.
• The UK’s first Pink Duck Race has raised thousands for a charity supporting those with breast cancer. About 5,000 pink rubber ducks bobbed down the River Cam in Cambridge, each representing a £5 donation from a member of the public to Pink Ribbon Foundation.
• A researcher is using AI to improve menopause care across Greater Manchester, studying how symptoms and treatment differ to ensure fair support for women from all backgrounds. Dr Charlotte Woolley’s project examines how menopause treatment varies and seeks to ensure equal access, prompted by reports of misdiagnosis, unequal access and inadequate care.
• Women with long Covid reported abnormal bleeding around their menstrual cycles, according to new research involving more than 12,000 women in the UK. The study found periods were often longer and heavier, with bleeding between cycles.

• Agilus Diagnostics, a subsidiary of Fortis Healthcare Ltd., has launched the AgilusEDGE Comprehensive Genomic Profile (CGP) Rapid, offering genomic profiling of over 500 cancer-related genes in just four working days. Traditionally, such profiling takes up to 30 days, often delaying critical treatment decisions.
• Sanofi Ventures has announced an additional $625 million multi-year capital commitment from Sanofi, increasing its total assets under management to over $1.4 billion. This new commitment to the evergreen venture fund builds on more than a decade of investing in innovative biotech and digital health companies that align with Sanofi’s long-term growth ambitions.
• Global pharma major Lupin Limited (Lupin) announced that it has received tentative approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Abbreviated New Drug Application for bictegravir, emtricitabine, and tenofovir alafenamide tablets, 50 mg/200 mg/25 mg.  This product would be manufactured at Lupin’s Nagpur facility in India.
• Organon, a global healthcare company focused on women’s health, is collaborating with local partners to highlight the critical importance of equitable access to contraception and reproductive health services throughout the Asia Pacific region.

• New York Governor Kathy Hochul has announced a $218 million initiative to develop a new electronic health record (EHR) system for the state’s mental health network. The project, awarded to Oracle Health, aims to unify records across 24 inpatient psychiatric centers and more than 300 outpatient programs.
• California-based MindHYVE.ai, backed by HYVE Labs, has launched ChironAI, the world’s first AGI-powered Clinical Decision Support (CDS) system.Designed to augment human clinicians, ChironAI leverages the Ava-Healthcare AGI reasoning model to deliver real-time, highly accurate, and efficient medical insights.
• Samsung has announced a partnership with Web3 healthcare startup Galeon to integrate its AI-enabled ultrasound devices with Galeon’s decentralized electronic health record (EHR) system, which is already deployed in 18 hospitals across Europe. The move aims to enhance women’s health diagnostics while maintaining strong safeguards for patient data.
• Lenovo has announced the launch of Genomics Optimisation and Scalability Tool (GOAST) v4.0, the latest version of its high-performance genomics computing solution.

• Punjab Health Minister Dr. Balbir Singh launched AI-enabled screening devices on Tuesday, aimed at early detection of breast cancer, cervical cancer, and refractive errors across eight districts of the state. 
• Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has unveiled robotic surgery facilities which are now available at the Atal Institute of Medical Super-Specialty, Chamiyana (Shimla), and Dr. Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College, Tanda, and will soon be extended to government medical colleges in Hamirpur, Chamba, Ner Chowk, and Nahan.

📳 – Quick Reads: 

• 10 everyday mistakes silently harming your heart health. Heart health is often compromised by common daily mistakes such as sedentary living, unhealthy eating, and chronic stress. Read on to know the 10 everyday mistakes that affect our heart health
• Are your plastic chopping boards leaching toxins and microplastics into your food?. Plastic chopping boards pose significant health risks due to the release of microplastics and endocrine-disrupting chemicals that can harm gut health, hormones, and increase the risk of chronic diseases
• Are cotton swabs dangerous for your ear health and eardrum? Experts discourage internal ear cleaning, especially with cotton swabs, due to the risk of pushing wax deeper, causing impaction, injury, or infection, and recommend only cleaning the outer ear

🎉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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