Issue #94- We have first Unicorn in FemTech

Happy FemTech Friday, 

🎉 Big win for women’s health—Flo has just become the first unicorn in FemTech! This achievement is a huge milestone and a celebration of progress. It’s the kind of success story that can encourage investors to put more money into women’s health companies. While there are still challenges for women pitching their ideas, each success like Flo’s helps bring more funding to this sector.

There has been a lot of discussion about FemTech being a man’s world, especially after Flo became a unicorn. This is an important debate, and I’m curious to hear your thoughts on it. Does it matter that the first FemTech unicorn was founded by men, even if their product benefits women?  Write to me..

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• Flo Health, a London, UK-based women’s health app provider, raised more than $200M in Series C funding.
• LotaSciences, an Oxford, UK-based leader in single-cell biology handling solutions, raised an equity funding round of undisclosed amount.
• 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.
• RetiSpec Inc., a Toronto, Canada-based innovator in AI-driven eye diagnostics for brain health, closed a $10M USD Series A financing.
• The US mental health start-up Spring Health has raised US$100m in  Series E funding, boosting its valuation to US$3.3bn. Generation Investment Management led the round with participation from existing investors, including Kinnevik, William K Warren Foundation, RRE and Northzone.

• Women who experience early menopause appear to be at greater risk of breast cancer, a new study reports. Women who underwent menopause at an age younger than 46 were nearly twice as likely to have breast cancer compared to others their age, researchers found.
• A new study finds eating processed red meats raises your odds for dementia. Overall, just two servings per week of processed red meat was linked to a 14% rise in dementia risk, compared to folks who ate less than three servings per month. The finding made sense to Heather Snyder, vice president of medical and scientific relations the Alzheimer’s Association, given what experts know about diet and the brain.
• The US healthcare system urgently needs to change, experts have warned after a damning report revealed that women’s health is in a “perilous” place. A new report from the Commonwealth Fund has found that growing inequalities across the US are putting women’s health “under threat”, causing higher cancer rates and preventable deaths.
• In findings that suggest more young Americans struggling with mental health issues are getting the help they need, a new poll shows that nearly a third of American adolescents and teens received some sort of mental health treatment in 2023.
• Toxic heavy metals are found naturally worldwide in soils that produce the cocoa bean tree — and those metals are showing up in chocolate, a new report warns.
• Self-sampling HPV kits could enable more than a million more women in England to participate in cervical screening over the next three years, new research has shown. A new study has found that do-it-yourself human papillomavirus (HPV) tests could dramatically increase the rates of cervical screening uptake.
• Almost 60% of adult Americans said they took a walk over the past week for leisure, and maybe even some healthy exercise, a new federal tally finds. Data from the 2022 National Health Interview Survey, a representative sampling of U.S. households, found that last year “58.7% of adults walked for leisure in the past 7 days,” although just who was walking and who stayed on the couch varied.
• Artificial intelligence is adding new luster to the old-fashioned EEG brain scan, increasing the potential usefulness of the century-old medical test, a new report says. The EEG, or electroencephalogram, tracks brain activity through a dozen or more electrodes stuck to the scalp. It is often used to detect epilepsy.
• Puttering around the home or office isn’t enough to protect a person from stroke, a new study says. People need to be more active to lower their stroke risk, either by exercising in their free time or biking or walking to work, results show.
• Three out of five young people who die by suicide don’t have any prior mental health diagnosis, a new study finds. People are missing the telltale signs that children, teens and young adults are troubled in ways that put them at risk for suicide, researchers said.
• Added sugar can cause your cells to prematurely age, a new study warns. Each gram of added sugar is associated with an increase in a person’s cellular age, even when they eat healthy otherwise, researchers found. On the other hand, a diet rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients can help a person have a younger biological age on a cellular level, results show.
• A healthy mouth also means a healthy heart, a new review suggests. People who’ve lost teeth are more likely to die from heart problems – and the more teeth lost, the higher the risk, researchers found.

• Hello Cake, a sexual wellness brand dedicated to helping couples reconnect in the bedroom, has expanded its telehealth offerings with the introduction of Libido Lift Rx. This new custom-compounded medication is specifically designed to help women address the most common symptoms of Female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD).
• The US medtech company Hologic has acquired Endomagnetics, a UK-based developer of breast cancer surgery technologies, for approximately US$310m. The previously announced transaction adds Endomag’s wireless breast surgery localisation and lymphatic tracing solutions to Hologic’s breast surgery portfolio.
• Apricity, a leading provider in fertility treatments and egg donation services, has launched a new frozen egg bank. This complements the existing fresh egg donation and embryo creation services already offered through its Altrui Egg Donation Programme. 
• 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.

• Niramai Health Analytix has published a thoughtware on 8 common breast cancer symptoms.
• Miyara has released a campaign called “80 Days Until World Menopause Day” and is targeting to help organizations be prepared for it.
• Momly published an informative article on “BreakingGenderBarrier” and about supporting sisterhood and motherhood.

• The Federation of Pharmaceutical Entrepreneurs (FOPE) is underscoring the need to minimize human errors such as mislabelling or incorrect packing. This is crucial because errors disrupt workflows, cause delays, and necessitate rework, which ultimately affects productivity and operational efficiency.
• The Central drug regulator, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has decided to accept the preclinical toxicity data already generated and accepted by regulatory authorities of other countries for review of new drugs, subsequent new drugs (SNDs) and fixed dose combinations (FDCs), subject to certain conditions.
• The Union health ministry has initiated the process to fill in the top most post in the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), with the tenure of the current Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) expected to come to an end by February next year.

📳 – Quick Reads: 

• Swish, Spit, Repeat: Is Oil Pulling Good for Your Teeth?
  It has been said to reduce cavities, whiten teeth and minimize bad breath. Here’s what the research suggests.
  
• Is a Fiber Supplement Just as Good as Fiber From Food?Experts explain what fiber supplements can and can’t do for your health.

See you next Friday, friends 👋
Navneet

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