Funding Alerts:
- Funding for startups in small towns surges 41%, Bengaluru, Mumbai, NCR see decline: Blume report.
- Two years after emerging from stealth, Bicara Therapeutics has brought in $108 million as it plans to scale up human trials of its cancer drugs. Bicara, a spinout of India biotech Biocon Ltd., is behind a suite of cancer drugs that combine targeted therapies and immunotherapies into a single, precision antibody.
- At least three private equity firms have emerged as serious contenders to invest in NU Hospitals Pvt. Ltd, a south India-based chain of nephrology and urology hospitals. The Bengaluru-based hospital chain is in the final stage of discussion with healthcare-focused private equity firms.
Global Funding:
- Melinda French Gates’ VC firm backs women’s health start-up Tia
- Wave Life the science-backed mental health platform aimed at supporting Gen Z, today announced the completion of a $6 million seed investment led by Santé Ventures.
- Berlin-based Menstrual Health Startup HERMONE Launches with €1M in Pre-seed Funding
FemTech News:
- Women who are diagnosed with PCOS are 3 times more likely to suffer from symptoms of severe anxieties and depression than the others due to various physical, emotional and social reasons.
- The World Bank will extend two complementary loans of $500 million each to India to bolster public healthcare infrastructure in the country.
- Top 5 diseases that are silent killer for women – cardiac issues, hypertension, diabetes, liver diseases among many others that leave a silent impact on the body. These diseases do not have any symptoms initially and at a later stage, they may be difficult to manage or treat.
- India Did A Very Good Job On Immunisation: Bill Gates – The world can learn from the digital platforms India has established for health care
- Mankind Pharma partners with Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble for easy access to healthcare
- As millennial and GenZ employees put mental health front and centre, work environment and the role of managers has some under scrutiny. According to a recent report, 60% of employees worldwide feel that their job was the biggest factor influencing their mental health. A vast majority of the people surveyed also said that they would prioritise mental health over a high-paying job and even take a pay cut.
Global FemTech Companies and News :
- The American fitness tracker Strava has partnered with the Hot Girl Walk creator to empower women to exercise and stay active.Strava’s partnership ahead of Women’s International Day aims to raise funds to benefit the global initiatives GRLS and the ONSIDE Fund, by the women’s fund Women Win, and empower girls to become better equipped to exercise their rights through sports and play.
- NHS patients in England will be part of a new groundbreaking trial using AI to support breast screening. The programme, called MIA (mammography intelligent assessment), is developed by the London-based software company, Kheiron Medical, and uses AI to help radiologists identify signs of breast cancer.
FemTech India Partner Company News:
- MenoVeda participated in the International Ayurvedic Medicinal Sciences- ICAPS 2023, a 3-day conference that was organized by the Ministry of Ayush, Govt of India.
- Savage and MamaMiya was featured as the featured App on the Apple App store
- Sirona Hygiene collaborated with The Good Glamm Group to organize a webinar on sustainable Menstruation and Menstrual Cup. The session had over 300+ participants.
- Nestle India partnered with Elda Health to host an expert-led session on women’s health focusing on mental health, intimate health, PCOS and menopause.
- Plush has become the first women’s self-care brand to have its own exclusive page on Swiggy Instamart.
- Salad has been shortlisted as one of the startups in the Youth Co:Lab 2023 under the “Gender Equality and Women Economic Empowerment” Category. Youth Co:Lab 2023 is a program that was co-created by the UN Development Program (UNDP) and the Citi Foundation
Drugs, Diagnostics, and Pharma:
- The Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) has launched its digital job portal to support the pharma professionals and recruiters in the industry and signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with various pharma manufacturing organisations and Skill Development Council to reduce the industry-academia gap.
- Apollo partners with LifeSigns to donate 1,000 remote patient monitoring patches to Turkey. To support Turkey for the catastrophic disaster that has left tens of thousands of people dead and thousands more injured, Apollo Hospitals and LifeSigns have partnered to donate 1,000 remote patient monitoring patches. These patches can be used in settings where patients need close vital signs monitoring, including cardiac rhythm.
Government News:
- The Union health ministry has included six rare diseases including Laron’s syndrome, Wilson’s disease and hypophosphatemic rickets among others into various groups of disorders under the National Policy for Rare Diseases (NPRD), 2021, enabling the patients of these diseases to avail financial assistance for treatment.The decision is taken based on the NPRD, launched in March, 2021 for the treatment of rare disease patients by categorising the diseases into three groups.
- Venus Remedies joins India AMR Innovation Hub (antimicrobial resistance ) to fight antimicrobial resistance. Venus Remedies Ltd, one of India’s leading research-driven pharmaceutical companies, has become a member of the India AMR Innovation Hub (IAIH), a collaborative platform of key national and international stakeholders dedicated to reducing the AMR burden in India, with the aim of evolving a consensus and support system for long-term solutions to this impending global health catastrophe.
Research, Insights, and Market Projections:
- Preliminary findings from the Apple Women’s Health Study help advance the conversation and science around menstrual cycles. Harvard Chan School researchers used survey data from the Apple Women’s Health Study to advance the scientific understanding around the relationship between persistently abnormal periods, PCOS, and endometrial hyperplasia and cancer.
- According to a new study led by researchers at the University of Sydney in collaboration with Southern Denmark University, poor sleep could lead to between two and seven years’ worth of heightened heart disease risk.
- The ‘meal-recall effect,’ or recalling a recent meal, can limit the amount of food a person would consume later. The effect on meal-recall effect of believing that a recent meal was twice as big and satisfying as reality or recalling a recent meal in detail was explored by researchers from the University of Cambridge (e.g., what it felt like to chew and swallow the food).
Jobs on Board:
- Newmi is looking for a Sales Associate. Newmi is a Digital Health and Commerce platform and India’s first products and services ecosystem focused on health and wellness needs of women.
- iMumz is looking for Product Operations Interns. iMumz is a platform for Indian pregnant women. It was declared as the second-best health app of the country by the Govt of India.
- Elda Health is looking for a Marketing and SEO Intern. Elda is a digital wellness platform for women.
