Issue #75 – Congress Takes Action in Women’s Health Research

Happy Friday, 

Welcome to another edition of our newsletter! These Friday emails are always a highlight for me – just me, my coffee, and a good internet connection – perfect ingredients for sharing the latest trends 🌟

I’m excited  to see the digital landscape in India flourishing. This week, we’re excited to introduce a new friend to the Indian market: Bobi Health. More than just a mobile app, Bobi Health is a compassionate companion on the journey of pregnancy. With a team comprising medical experts and data scientists, Bobi Health is dedicated to offering evidence-based support and promoting inclusivity in maternal healthcare. 

Currently available on Apple devices, an Android version is on the horizon. To know more about Bobi Health Read here 

Proactive For Her launches India’s first Women and Pain survey, addressing long standing healthcare research gaps.  Please do take just 2 mins to tell us more about your experience and help further women’s research! 

SURVEY LINK – Click here

what’s making waves this week? So, let’s jump right in and explore the latest trends shaping our industry this week.

• Wearable tech startup Ultrahuman has raised $35 million in a mix of debt and equity in its Series B round from Blume Ventures, Steadview Capital, Nexus Venture Partners, and Alpha Wave.
• CureSkin, a beauty and personal care brand, has raised $20 million in a Series B funding round led by Healthquad. The round also saw participation from JSW Ventures, Khosla Ventures, and Sharrp Ventures.
• S3V Vascular Technologies, a Mysuru-based medical devices manufacturing firm, has secured Rs 300 crore in Series B funding from prominent investors, including Larsen & Toubro (L&T) chairman emeritus AM Naik and investor Madhusudan Kela.
• Qurex, a New Delhi-based healthtech startup dedicated to revolutionising sexual health solutions, has successfully closed a pre-seed funding round, raising over $250,000. The investment, led by 7Square Ventures and PointOne Capital.
• Sugar.fit, a healthtech focused on  type 2 diabetes and prediabetes, has raised $5 million more in its Series A round led by B Capital with participation from MassMutual Ventures

• PocketHealth, a Toronto, Canada-based company which specialises in patient-centric medical image exchange, raised $33M USD in Series B funding. The round was led by Round13 Capital with participation from Deloitte Ventures, Samsung Next, and existing investors Questa Capital and Radical Ventures.
• Flosonics Medical, a Canada-based wearable medical ultrasound company, raised $20M USD in Series C funding.The round was led by New Leaf Venture Partners, with participation from previous investors Arboretum Ventures, Genesys Capital, and iGan Partners
• Cure51, a Paris, France-based techbio company, raised €15M in Seed funding. The round was led by Sofinnova Partners, with participation from Hitachi Ventures GmbH, Life Extension Ventures, Xavier Niel, and Olivier Pomel.
• Engrail Therapeutics closes oversubscribed $157M Series B financing round for transformational therapies. The round was co-led by new investors F-Prime Capital, Forbion, and Norwest Venture Partners, with participation from Eight Roads Ventures, RiverVest Venture Partners.

• US President Biden laid out his vision for transforming women’s health research and improving women’s lives all across America. The President called on Congress to make a bold, transformative investment of $12 billion in new funding for women’s health research. 
• Scientists are developing a smart textile which could fit inside a bra and monitor whether a breast cancer tumour is growing.A team in Nottingham Trent University’s Medical Technologies Innovation Facility is working to create the device, which it is hoped could help save patients’ lives in future by monitoring tumour growth in real time.The technology will work via a form of electrical current which can scan and detect tiny changes in fluids inside and outside of the cells.
• Rheumatic diseases of joints, muscles or connecting tissues can lead to reproductive problems like childlessness, preterm birth and birthing children of low weight, new research has found. Published in the journal Rheumatology, the study examined the impact of autoimmune diseases on reproductive health using data from Finnish nationwide registers.
• New research has highlighted significant demand for predictive testing for pregnancy complications like preeclampsia.The study, published in BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, has found that objective information about the risk of preeclampsia could be key to driving patient behaviour change and creates motivation among pregnant women to follow provider recommendations on prevention.
• An important study by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur’s Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering has led to new insights into understanding how cholesterol-lowering drugs like Niacin work at a molecular level.
• Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru have developed flexible films that exhibit bright colours purely by virtue of their physical structure, without the need for any pigment. When stretched, the films exhibit a change in colour as a response to the mechanical deformation.
• Bengaluru-based genomics company MedGenome has partnered with Darshan GIVA Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, to pioneer a transformative approach to tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis and treatment. The partnership aims at an access intervention pilot for offering Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) testing free of cost to pre diagnosed drug-resistant TB (DRTB) patients.
• Women, people of colour and those from deprived communities have been “left out of medical devices”, experts have said, amid growing bias concerns. Specialists feel that  there is currently no equity in medical devices, an issue which can put people at risk and exacerbate existing health inequalities.

• Roswitha Verwer, our ecosystem founder, was showcased in Wow Women in Femtech. Discover her insights in the full interview, Read more here.
• Proactive for her expands with a new clinic in Bangalore, India, bringing their total to 9 nationwide. Offering judgement-free, personalized, and confidential healthcare for Indian women.
• Dr Pooja Kohli, Hempstreet shared insights on Nurturing Menopausal Wellness – Solutions for inflammation and acidity
• Rocket Health’s psychologist presented a discussion on the Medico Legal Aspects of Psychotherapy
• Humm Care presented a short snippet series on empowering women in the workplace – Overlooked rights and how to address them.
• Niramai Health Analytics is a part of the Startup Mahakumbh, an event that is uniting the Indian startup ecosystem in New Delhi.

• Indian branded formulations pharmaceutical company Eris Lifesciences Ltd acquired Biocon Biologics’ Branded Formulations business in India in a deal worth Rs 1,242 crore ($169 million).This marks Eris’s foray into India’s Rs 30,000 crore ($4 billion) injectables market and puts it in leadership position in the insulin division.
• Roche announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Lonza, under which Lonza will acquire the Genentech manufacturing facility in Vacaville, California, USA, for USD 1.2 billion in conjunction with a manufacturing agreement and related quality services and warehousing.
• The US sexual wellness app Rosy has expanded its platform into other underserved areas of women’s health, including endometriosis, menopause and fibroids.
• Midi Health, a virtual care clinic specializing in women’s health during perimenopause and menopause, has teamed up with Cleo, a global caregiving platform, to provide comprehensive support for women facing hormonal changes. The collaboration aims to address the specific healthcare needs of women during this critical phase of their lives.

• The Union ministry of health and family welfare has notified amendment of Drugs Rules, 1945 to change the pack size norms related to the chest pain drugs glyceryl trinitrate and isosorbide dinitrate formulations, in order to help the patients to comply with the recommended dosage duration of the therapy.
• Exports of drugs and pharmaceuticals during the month of February posted a significant growth of 22.24 per cent as compared to the same month of previous year. For the 11 months of the fiscal year, exports have reported a growth of 9.34 per cent, according to the Central government.

• Antibiotic resistance varies with age and sex: New research finds age, sex, and location crucial in assessing antibiotic resistance
• Blood test breakthrough: A game-changer in heart failure detection :The findings of this research are an exciting new development”
• Vape pens heighten risk of periodontal disease: On this World Oral Health Day, March 20, the focus shifts to the alarming impact of vape pens on oral health.

• Unleash your memory potential: The science behind remembering better: Recent experiments shed light on how we learn and remember
• How smoking habits influence stroke risk examined: 8-fold risk increase of large vessel stroke among 50-59 age group

See you next Friday, friends 👋
Navneet

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