Indian Funding News
- Kochi-based digital health startup Mykare Healthhas raised $2.01 million in a seed round. Founded in 2021 by Senu Sam, Rahmatulla TM, and Joash Philipose, Mykare Health is a digital health startup that is building asset-light, affordable, and standardised hospital networks focused on delivering quality healthcare experience to India’s middle-class segment
Global Funding
- Oova, a women’s health and fertility startup, has secured $10.3 million in Series A funding for its at-home fertility tracking approach. The company offers the Oova Kit, an FDA-registered at-home urine test that measures luteinizing hormone and progesterone
- Seattle-based biotech company, Mozart Therapeutics, has successfully raised an additional $25M in Series A financing, increasing the total funding to $80M. The company plans to channel these resources into the clinical development of their first therapeutic candidate, MTX-101, along with pipeline expansion.
- Anise Health, a digital mental health platform designed to provide culturally-responsive mental health care for people of color, has successfully closed a pre-seed funding round worth $1.2 million, led by Kicker Ventures. Other investors include Gold House Ventures, Allston Venture Fund, and a range of strategic angel investors. Anise Health was founded by Harvard grads Alice Zhang and Nisha Desai in 2022.
- Los Angeles-based venture capital firm Selva Ventures has successfully closed its second fund, raising $34M to accelerate the growth of emerging companies in the health, wellness, beauty, and personal care sectors. This marks a substantial increase from their first fund in 2019, which was raised at $10M.
FemTech News:
- The women’s health diagnostics market is huge. Recent estimates suggest it is worth over US$27b and is expected to grow to over US$50b by 2029. A number of factors are driving this change notably innovation but also a growing demand for empowerment and the ability for women to manage their own health proactively.
- Over 11 percent of Indians are diabetic, while 36 percent suffer from hypertension, according to a survey published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal. The study, conducted by the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF) in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), estimates that in 2021, there were 101 million people with diabetes in India, 136 million with prediabetes, and 315 million with high blood pressure.
- Artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms have surpassed the standard clinical risk model in predicting the five-year risk of breast cancer, according to a large-scale study published in the journal Radiology by the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). The study analysed thousands of mammograms and found that AI algorithms outperformed traditional models in forecasting breast cancer risk.
- FemTech comes into its own as users seek increased data and knowledge.Until a decade ago, women accounted for around 10% of participants in clinical trials, leading to a dearth of detailed evidence about how hormones, genetics and the environment affect women’s bodies.The growing demand for more knowledge and better diagnostics is propelling many of the innovators in the FemTech field.
- India’s health indicators have improved in recent times but continue to lag behind those of its peer nations. The country with a population of 1.3 billion, has an estimated active health workers density of doctors and nurses/midwives of 5.0 and 6.0 respectively, for 10,000 persons, which is much lower than the WHO threshold of 44.5 doctors, nurses, and midwives per 10,000 population. The issue is compounded by the skewed inter-state, urban-rural, and public-private sector divide.
- In 2022, a long-term study by the Women’s Health Initiative examining the use of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) was cut short after the team determined that “the adverse effects outweigh and outnumber the benefits. Women’s health has often been overlooked or misunderstood. Women display very different symptoms and respond to medicine in very different ways than men. On average, only 4 hours of menopause education throughout their entire medical training. According to a recent New York Time article, 20% of residents have not had a single lecture on the subject of menopause.
Global FemTech Companies:
- US-based Cosette Pharmaceuticalshas acquired the global rights to Intrarosa from Endoceutics, a subsidiary of Endorecherche. Intrarosa is a drug for the treatment of moderate-to-severe dyspareunia, a common symptom of vulvar and vaginal atrophy (VVA) due to menopause.
- New York-based telehealth company, Thirty Madison, has reportedly purchased strategic assets from The Pill Club, thereby ensuring continuous care for over 100,000 patients. With an impressive track record of treating nearly 1 million patients, Thirty Madison has successfully expanded its innovative care model over the past year, prioritizing improved outcomes and reaching a wider demographic of women.
- OCON Therapeutics, a pioneering women’s health company, is taking the lead in advocating for uterine health, as two key members of its management team, Keren Leshem and Daniela Schardinger, join the esteemed Innovation Equity Forum (IEF) Steering Committee of the NIH and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
FemTech India Partner Company News:
- Pranay Jivrajka, founder of Allo Health was recognized as IIT Bombay Alumni Association’s “Startup Entrepreneur” for his work in making quality healthcare accessible to all.
- Carina Kohli, founder of Humm Care hosted the Physique 57 India along with Mallika Parekh and Dr Kruti Khemani to talk about women and women empowerment.
- Aditi Mittal, founder of Newmi Care presented a speech on the theme #FirstPeriodStory on the occasion of Menstrual Hygiene Day.
- FertilityDost hosted a series of informative workshops on topics such as “Infertility and Intimacy”, “Female Hormones and fertility levels”, and “Managing male infertility with supplements”.
- Savage clubs has introduced powerful first-ever doctor-designed essential supplements for women
Drugs, Diagnostics, and Pharma:
- Pharma company Roche has been awarded World Health Organization (WHO) prequalification for its cobas HPV test. This move increases access to critical cervical cancer screening tools in low and lower-middle income countries, where the disease is most prevalent and deadly.
- Granules India Limited, a vertically integrated fast growing Indian pharmaceutical company, announced that the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for levetiracetam tablets USP, 250 mg, 500 mg, 750 mg, and 1,000 mg. bioequivalent and therapeutically equivalent to the reference listed drug (RLD), Keppra tablets of UCB, Inc. (UCB).
- PharmaLink, Inc., a leading pharmaceutical reverse distributor, announced its acquisition of Cybornetic Systems, Inc. dba PharmaReturns, Inc. In addition to expanding its national account base with top-tier clients, the purchase provides PharmaLink with an innovative technology platform for returns processing that adds artificial intelligence (AI) and new levels of customization to the reverse distribution process for pharmaceutical manufacturers.
- Novartis announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Chinook Therapeutics, a Seattle, Washington, based clinical stage biopharmaceutical company with two high-value, late-stage medicines in development for rare, severe chronic kidney diseases. The agreed deal, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is fully in line with Novartis strategy to focus on innovative medicines and will significantly expand its renal portfolio, complementing the existing pipeline.
- Mylab Discovery Solutions has launched a strip-based, rapid point of care test, PathoCatch Sickle Cell Rapid Test for Sickle Cell Anaemia. Approved by CDSCO, this test aims to transform the way healthcare professionals diagnose and manage SCA, offering rapid and accurate results at the patient’s site. This will be instrumental in supporting the government’s mission to eliminate SCA by 2047 from India.
Research, Insights, and Market Projections :
- Novartis has unveiled significant findings from the Phase III NATALEE trial, demonstrating that Kisqali (ribociclib) can effectively reduce the risk of cancer recurrence by 25.2% in patients with early breast cancer. The trial results were presented at the 2023 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting and showcased a consistent and clinically meaningful benefit of Kisqali across a broad range of patients with hormone receptor-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HR+/HER2-) breast cancer.
- In a new Commentary in the New England Journal of Medicine, leaders at the National Institutes of Health and US Food and Drug Administration highlight the urgent need to address current gaps in the research, development, and implementation of fentanyl test strips and other rapid drug-detecting tools that could help prevent overdose deaths. These tools have the potential to save lives and to serve as an important part of harm reduction toolkits but often remain inaccessible because of gaps in research and various other barriers, including state or legal prohibitions.
- A once-daily pill halved people’s risk of dying from a common lung cancer when they took the drug after tumour-removal surgery, trial results from a global study show. The research, published recently in The New England Journal of Medicine, found that taking the drug osimertinib after surgery dramatically reduced the risk of patients dying by 51 per cent.
Government News:
- Indian Institute of Science scientists have designed a fluorogenic probe to detect enzyme linked to early stage of Alzheimer’s disease, a neurodegenerative disorder, which results in memory loss and compromises cognitive abilities in many people beyond the age of 60. Currently used techniques to detect manifestations of the disease (MRI, PET, and CT scans) are complex, expensive, and often produce inconclusive results, according to Bengaluru-based IISc.
- Ministry of Minority Affairs has supported Central Council of Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM) and National Institute of Unani Medicine (NIUM) Bengaluru, under the Ministry of Ayush, for the promotion and upgradation of Unani Medicine facilities in India. Ministry of Minority Affairs has approved a grant of Rs. 45.34 Crores under Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK), a centrally sponsored scheme (CSS). This will support the upgradation of Unani Medicine facilities at Hyderabad, Chennai, Lucknow, Silchar and Bengaluru.
Jobs on Board:
- Newmi Care is looking for Business Development Associate. Newmi is India’s first omni-channel focused on women’s health and wellness.
- Allo is looking for a Digital Marketing Executive. Allo is India’s first digital health clinic for sexual wellbeing.
