Issue #93 – Budget highlights

Happy FemTech Friday 

This week diving into multiple stories, let’s get in ☕

If you’ve found your way to my Instagram, I’m excited to have you as part of our community. As promised in my Instagram post, here’s the budget breakdown:

The Union Budget 2024-25 has allocated Rs. 89,227 crore to the healthcare sector, marking a significant 12.5% increase from the previous year’s budget of Rs. 79,221 crore. The Ministry of Women and Child Development’s total budget is ₹26,092 crore, a 2.5% increase  from last year’s revised allocation of ₹25,448 crore.

• ₹3 Lakh Crore for Women’s Welfare: Major focus on healthcare initiatives for women’s health. 

• Saksham Anganwadi & POSHAN 2.0: ₹21,200 Crore dedicated to improving healthcare and fighting malnutrition. 

• Anusandhan Fund: Focus on basic research and prototypes, plus ₹1 Lakh Crore for private sector innovation.

• Biotech R&D Boost: Allocation increased from ₹500 Crore to ₹1,100 Crore for 2024-25.

• Cancer Medications: 3 new drugs exempted from customs duties, plus exemptions for rare disease treatments.

• Safe Hostels & Childcare: The government and industries are funding safe hostels and childcare, boosting women’s workforce participation and job opportunities.

• Ayushman Bharat Coverage: Now includes ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers, and helpers. 

Gender Budget Hits 6.5%: Highest since 2006, giving a big boost to women’s initiatives.

According to Bain’s 2023 survey, 91% of people now prefer a single touchpoint for health management (up from 68% in 2019). While physical visits are still important, the shift towards virtual touchpoints is growing. 

Current consumers are looking for  care options that are convenient, affordable, and provide a connected experience.

• India Next MedTech Hub : Linkedin spotlighted our report on the growth trends in India’s medtech industry and the emerging roles and guidance for founders  who’re building in the space. 

Access full report here: Click Here

• Oisín Biotechnologies, a Seattle, WA-based biotechnology company focused on mitigating the effects of age-related diseases, announced the first close of a $15M in Series A funding.
• Osheru, a Bend, Oregon, Canada-based medical device company, raised $4.7M in Seed funding.
• Bionic Power, a Canadian developer of active lower body smart orthotic devices, received an investment from Hanger Ventures
• Pearl, a Los Angeles, CA-based company which specializes in dental AI, raised $58M in funding.
• Lario Therapeutics, an Edinburgh, Scotland, UK-based biopharmaceutical company developing precision medicines for epileptic and neurological disorders, received a $6M Grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF).
• 4D Medicine, a Nottingham, UK-based company developing biomaterials for 3D printed implants and surgical devices, raised $3.4M in Series A funding.
• TRiCares, a Paris, France- and Munich, Germany-based company which specializes in the field of minimally invasive treatment of tricuspid regurgitation, raised $50m in Series D funding.
• The health tech start-up Motherhood Care+ has announced a new round of investment to “revolutionise” maternity care across Malaysia and Singapore.  Motherhood Care+ aims to elevate maternity care standards by integrating an array of products and services from confinement centres, confinement nannies, and confinement wellness providers.

• Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have higher proportion of women with obesity compared to men, according to a shocking revelation in the Economic Survey tabled in the Parliament on Monday.In the National Capital Territory (Delhi), 41.3 per cent of women are obese compared to  38 per cent for men, said the survey, citing National Family Health Survey (NFHS). In Tamil Nadu, it is 40.4 per cent for women while 37 per cent men are obese. In Andhra Pradesh, 36.3 per cent of women are obese as against 31.1 per cent for men.
• Just two shots a year of an HIV treatment provided complete protection against infections in highly at-risk women, researchers reported Wednesday. In the study of about 5,000 women in South Africa and Uganda, those given injections of lenacapavir were 100% protected, while roughly 2% of those given daily prevention pills were infected by their sex partners.
• Having high blood pressure in adulthood greatly raises the odds for multiple types of stroke, a new study confirms.“Our results suggest that early diagnosis and sustained control of high blood pressure over the lifespan are critical to preventing stroke, ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage,” said senior study author Dr. Deborah Levine. She’s a professor of internal medicine and neurology at University of Michigan Medical School.
• Brent Ruch, a collegiate basketball center, opted to have his left knee replaced at age 35 after struggling with pain for years. “Walking with a limp and living with a consistent aching pain was physically and emotionally difficult.  I didn’t want to live like that,” said Ruch, who lives in a suburb of Chicago.
• The knee develops differently in men and women, with sex-specific distinctions in the joint appearing as early as childhood, a new study finds. Taking these differences into account among girls could help prevent knee arthritis for women later in life, researchers say.
• Youngsters so sick they’ve needed treatment in an ICU appear to bear the scars of that experience years later, a new study finds.Children and teenagers treated in an intensive care unit have a significantly higher risk of developing a mental illness as they grow up, researchers reported July 20 in the Journal of Affective Disorders.
• Finding yourself packing on the pounds around your waist and arms? If so, you might be at heightened risk for neurological illnesses like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s, new research suggests. There was one other physical characteristic that lowered the odds, however: muscle strength. Stronger folk appeared to have a lower odds for neurological illnesses compared to weaker people, reported a team of Chinese researchers.
• Synthetic antibiotics that attack bacteria in two directions at once could be the solution for combatting antimicrobial-resistant bugs, a new study claims.These dual-action antibiotics, called macrolones, disrupt bacterial cell function in two different ways. It’s nearly impossible for bacteria to resist macrolones, because the germ would need to defend against both attacks at once, researchers said.
• Obese kids infected with dengue are significantly more likely to suffer severe illness requiring hospitalization, a new study warns. A new analysis of nearly 5,000 dengue-infected Sri Lankan children found that weight plays a powerful role in how sick the mosquito-borne virus can make a kid.
• COVID-19 doesn’t raise a person’s risk of developing chronic fatigue syndrome more than any other infectious disease, a new study finds. The rate of chronic fatigue syndrome following a brief illness was roughly the same between people who caught COVID and those who came down with some other malady, researchers reported July 24 in the journal JAMA Network Open.
• As marijuana loses much of its stigma and laws around its use relax, Americans are increasingly consuming it medically and recreationally. Americans with diabetes are no exception, a new study finds.The number of adults with diabetes who said that they’d used cannabis at least once over the past month jumped by a third between 2021 and 2022, the new report found.

• Dechra Pharmaceuticals Limited, a Northwich, Cheshire, UK-based provider of a veterinary pharmaceuticals business, acquired Invetx Inc., a Boston, MA-base company which specializes in protein-based therapeutics for animal health, for up to $520M.
• Bone Health Technologies (BHT), a company specialized in the development of non-pharmacological solutions to improve bone health and reduce fractures, has announced the acquisition of Wellen, a Brooklyn-based health technology company specializing in exercise-based osteoporosis care. This strategic move aims to create a comprehensive, multi-modal bone health solution.
• In response to the growing demand for affordable fertility options and the pressing need for egg donors, the UK virtual fertility clinic Apricity has launched an innovative Freeze and Share programme.
• The award-winning UK gynaecological health company Daye has launched its new workplace app, Daye for Work.The app can be offered to employees across the UK as a workplace benefit, providing them with much-needed access to services that are often lacking from the NHS and even private healthcare companies.
• ACKO, the tech-first insurer, has acquired the digital chronic care management company OneCare, to take another step towards creating a comprehensive healthcare ecosystem. The acquisition, in an undisclosed all-cash transaction, is a strategic move to re-emphasise ACKO’s broader vision of being a comprehensive healthcare provider to its customers, going beyond the insurance services.

• Miind My Miind released a interactive video titled “Overcoming addiction with friends”
• How does AI bridge health care divide- Dr. Geetha Manjunath shared her thoughts on the topic.

• NIMHANS, the first Institute of National Importance (INI) hospital to receive the NABH accreditation had undergone the re-assessment during the month of March 2024 and has once again earned the prestigious NABH (National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers) renewal as per the 5th edition standards.
• In a strategic move to bolster its Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) capabilities, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has issued an invitation for expressions of interest from its in-house scientists and technical officers. This call aims to attract qualified personnel for transfer or posting to the IPR Unit at ICMR headquarters, New Delhi. The initiative underscores ICMR’s vision to safeguard and commercialize scientific innovations developed under its aegis.

📳 – Quick Reads: 

• How cell and gene therapies revolutionising cancer care in India. These treatments are becoming increasingly effective, affordable, and accessible

📺 – Show –  Maxton Hall , Amazon Prime.

🎙️ – Investing in Women’s health in India

See you next Friday, friends 👋
Navneet

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