Issue #98- Ecosystem Updates and Latest Innovations

Happy FemTech Friday, 

Indian FemTech and women’s health startups have come a long way in recent years and are rapidly growing in India. Excited to share some recent updates from our ecosystem, showcasing companies that are innovating with Made-in-India products and closing important gaps.

• CERVICHECK, launched India’s first self-sampling kit for cervical cancer. This Made-in-India product advances early detection and prevention. 
• Papaya has introduced the world’s first blood-coagulating menstrual pad, an innovation proudly made in India. 
• Humm Care released a new report revealing gaps in healthcare accessibility. With 315 responses, the report shows that many people are lacking support in their workplaces, its call to action. 
• HempStreet is nearing the end of its first clinical trial for dysmenorrhea (menstrual cramps) using low-dose cannabis. This Made-in-India option aims to provide a safer, clinically-backed alternative to current products.
• MenopauseWize has launched a podcast and platform to support women by addressing both Perimenopause and Menopause. The platform aims to provide research-based information to help women,  especially given that 400 million women in India are expected to experience menopause by 2030.

These innovations are making a significant impact, and we look forward to the positive changes they will bring to women’s health in India!

If you’re a founder in the FemTech or women’s health tech space—or know someone who is—please share this newsletter and invite them to join our thriving ecosystem –  https://lnkd.in/gyZqpez4

• UAE-based beauty products platform Powder Beauty secured an undisclosed pre-Series A funding round, led by women-focused investor Sophia Collective and a family office fund founded by the founders of Indian stock broker Zerodha. The round also saw participation from several regional angel investors including Maha Taibah.
• Melodi Health, a Minneapolis, MN-based medical device company, raised $10.75M in Series A funding.Backers included HM Venture Partners, Engage Venture Partners, Southeast Minnesota Capital Fund, and Three Bridges Private Capital.
• Mestag Therapeutics, a Cambridge, MA-based biotech company harnessing new insights into fibroblast-immune interactions, received a £1.5M Grant from Innovate UK’s Cancer Therapeutics Program.
• The medtech start-up Cairn Surgical has secured US$4.5m in funding to improve breast cancer surgery.The round, led by Morningside Ventures, is hoped to help the company complete a US pivotal trial of its breast cancer locator (BCL™) system and implement a limited commercial launch of the technology in select European markets.

• Breastfeeding helps women shed those extra pounds of “pregnancy weight,” a new study finds, and the effect is even more pronounced for moms who were overweight before their pregnancy.
• Women are becoming pregnant after having their tubes tied, even though the procedure is considered a “permanent” form of birth control, a new study warns.Between 3% and 5% of U.S. women who underwent tubal ligation later reported an unplanned pregnancy, according to findings published Aug. 27 in the journal NEJM Evidence.
• Giving chemo and radiation therapies before a surgery for rectal cancer can help eliminate the need for removal of the rectum altogether, a new Swedish study finds.
• Human papillomavirus (HPV) has largely been seen as a health problem of women, given that it causes nearly all cases of cervical cancer. But men also have reason to both fear HPV and get vaccinated against it, a new study says.
• A new type of cancer drug might help treat brain diseases like Alzheimer’s, mouse studies suggest.The drugs block an enzyme called indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1), researchers reported
• Women who suffer frequent migraines don’t have any increased risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, finds a new study that refutes earlier research.
• During menopause, a woman’s blood cholesterol changes in a way that could harm her heart health, a new study warns. An increase in “bad” LDL cholesterol and a decrease in “good” HDL cholesterol occurs during menopause, according to research being presented Sept. 2 at the European Society of Cardiology’s annual meeting in London.
• A new study supports the notion that women aged 40 and older get a mammogram each year rather than every two years, to help catch breast cancers early.
• Recreational drug users are three times more likely to have repeated heart health emergencies than people who don’t use it, a new study has found.
• Smokers who quit the habit soon after being diagnosed with heart disease saw their odds for heart attack or death drop by almost half over the next five years, a new report found.However, those who simply cut back on their smoking saw no risk reduction at all, the same study showed.
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the expanded use of an automated insulin pump system to include those with type 2 diabetes. It’s the first such system for use by people with the more prevalent type 2 form of the disease.
• Good sleep is important for the health of overweight men and women, a new study shows.Heavy-set people who stay awake too late tend to have a higher risk of metabolic syndrome — a cluster of conditions that increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke and other chronic health problems.
• The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced more than US$558m in funding to improve maternal health. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency of HHS, is awarding more than US$440m in funding to expand voluntary maternal, infant, and early childhood home visiting services for eligible families across the US.
• A study which compared pelvic floor yoga to general muscle conditioning found that yoga was only slightly better at relieving bladder issues.Yoga has been recommended for years to treat or prevent health conditions that are associated with aging, such as urinary incontinence, but there’s been little data to back it up.

• Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has agreed to acquire Consus.health, a Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany-based healthcare management consultancy.The amount of the deal was not disclosed. Completion of the acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions.
• Partum Health, a Chicago-based maternal health start-up that provides interdisciplinary pregnancy and postpartum care, is expanding to Dallas.Partum, a start-up founded in Chicago in 2021, expanded to Houston in November 2023 after raising US$3.1m in seed funding.
• The healthcare company Aetna has become the first major US insurer to introduce intrauterine insemination (IUI) as a medical benefit for eligible plans.Aetna, a CVS Health business, serves an estimated 36 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their healthcare.
• Global pharma major Lupin Limited (Lupin) announced the launch of doxorubicin hydrochloride liposome injection 20 mg/10 mL (2 mg/mL) and 50 mg/25 mL (2 mg/mL) single-dose vials in the United States, after Lupin’s alliance partner, ForDoz Pharma Corporation, USA (ForDoz) received an approval for its ANDA from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

• The National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) has amended the NCISM regulations to mandate an Aadhar enabled biometric attendance system for the staff and postgraduate students including interns in the Ayurveda and Unani colleges and asked the colleges to set up information technology cells in six months.
• The National Task Force on Mental Health and Well-being of Medical Students is now formed to assess mental health and wellbeing of medical students following high stress and burnout episodes. The reality is that medical students are at an increased risk of psychological distress compared to the general population. This is not merely a national phenomenon but a global one.

📳 – Quick Reads: 

• Weekend Catch-Up Sleep Could Do Your Heart Good: Like to sleep in on the weekends? You’re probably doing your heart a world of good, a new study shows.
• Donating a Kidney Is Even Safer Now Than Long Thought, US Study Shows: People who volunteer to donate a kidney face an even lower risk of death from the operation than doctors have long thought

See you next Friday, friends 👋
Navneet

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