Women of Wearables (wearables, health tech & femtech)

It’s the end of the year again, and our team at Women of Wearables is compiling our annual list of 200 Trailblazing Leaders in FemTech and Women’s Health again! 🔥 We have some great new names on the list already, but we want to hear from you, too, so submit yourself or someone you know to be featured on our 2024 list. Check out our 2023 list here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/dSYSNBF7 Submit your entry via our contact form ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eTSbge6s #womenshealth #femtech #healthtech #digitalhealth #healthcare #healthcareinnovation #startups #innovation #health #medtech #healthcareresearch #femalehealth #genderhealthgap #reproductivehealth #venturecapital #vc #funding #investment #grants #maternalhealth #periods #menstruation #sexualhealth #sextech #menopause #fertility #pregnancy #postpartum #eggfreezing #IVF #healthequity #pelvicfloor #pelvicfloorhealth #hormonehealth 

MedTech Innovator and BioTools Innovator are seeking candidates for their next cohorts! 🚀 Are you an #EUeic beneficiary actively developing life science tools, enabling technologies, medical devices, diagnostics, or digital health products to improve human health? Both programmes provide the tools needed to quickly bring your innovations to market through unparalleled mentoring, education, and access to investors, strategic partners, and suppliers. Finalists also have the chance to win up to $800,000 in prizes! Apply by 15 January 👉 https://lnkd.in/e_pGryDA

Congrats to our members from Calla Lily Clinical Care 👏🏽

Globally, 78 percent in women’s heart attack symptoms go unrecognized, according to Canada’s Heart and Stroke Association, and only one percent of healthcare research and innovation in 2020 went towards female-specific conditions beyond oncology, according to a report by global management consultancy McKinsey. Gender disparities in healthcare also significantly impact the diagnosis of autoimmune diseases in women, partly because of bias in medical research; but also because of the easily dismissible nature of some of those diseases’ symptoms. “Inclusion of only one gender in trials can pose risks to another,” says Karen Kamel, regional managing director at McCann Health. “For instance, if drug safety, dosage, and study symptoms are based only on male subjects in clinical trials, real-world applicability among women could have a different result.” Kamel points to the Thalidomide tragedy of the late 1950s and early 1960s as an example of the devastating impact of such exclusion. Initially developed as a sedative, the drug was marketed primarily as a treatment for anxiety, insomnia, and morning sickness in pregnant women. However, women – particularly pregnant women – were excluded from clinical trials. “It was not until years later that the link between Thalidomide and fetal development abnormalities was made public, by which time over 10,000 babies had been affected by the drug worldwide,” explains Kamel, who notes that the majority of clinical trial studies continue to primarily recruit men. According to research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology in 2022, women accounted for less than 34 percent of participants in industry-sponsored clinical trials. This disparity is mirrored across the board. https://buff.ly/3PbBsmA #womenshealth #femtech #healthtech #digitalhealth #healthcare #healthcareinnovation #startups #innovation #health #medtech #healthcareresearch #femalehealth #genderhealthgap #reproductivehealth #venturecapital #vc #funding #investment #grants #maternalhealth #periods #menstruation #sexualhealth #sextech #menopause #fertility #pregnancy #postpartum #eggfreezing #IVF #healthequity #pelvicfloor #pelvicfloorhealth #hormonehealth

Today, we’re proud to announce that OURA has raised $200M in Series D funding led by Fidelity Management & Research Company and Dexcom, the global leader in glucose biosensing. With this investment, Oura’s valuation has surpassed $5.2 billion, a milestone that validates our mission and approach. Founded in Oulu, Finland, more than 11 years ago, Oura’s mission then was the same as it is today; in the simplest terms, it’s to help all people live healthier lives. In the last decade, we’ve expanded our product offering, invested deeply in science, research, and validation, expanded our retail footprint and partnership portfolio, and doubled down in specific health areas like women’s health, heart health, stress & resilience, metabolic health, and more. We'll use this investment to expand our product offerings, fuel further investment in product, science, and healthcare innovation, including AI, advance global expansion efforts, and explore additional acquisitions to accelerate growth. More from TechCrunch: https://lnkd.in/g2fdpRfQ

Research into women’s health has long gone underfunded in the U.S. But there’s some optimism that might be changing, attendees to the first conference hosted by the White House on women’s health research said Wednesday. Both President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden spoke at the conference, which featured panels involving investors, physicians, advocates and researchers discussing innovation and investment in the field. The meeting follows the Biden administration’s announcement in February of the Women’s Health Research initiative, which committed $100 million to funding women’s health research through the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, or ARPA-H. “What’s fascinating about women’s health is how under-hyped of a category it is compared to its massive market potential,” said Jess Lee, partner and chief product officer at investment firm Sequoia Capital, during a panel Wednesday. “We’re talking about a market that affects half of humanity, yet the sector has remained underfunded and under-invested in.” Wednesday’s conference spotlighted federal efforts around women’s health, but those efforts could also catalyze greater private investment. https://buff.ly/3ZINxEF #womenshealth #femtech #healthtech #digitalhealth #healthcare #healthcareinnovation #startups #innovation #health #medtech #healthcareresearch #femalehealth #genderhealthgap #reproductivehealth #venturecapital #vc #funding #investment #grants #maternalhealth #periods #menstruation #sexualhealth #sextech #menopause #fertility #pregnancy #postpartum #eggfreezing #IVF #healthequity #pelvicfloor #pelvicfloorhealth #hormonehealth

2025 Tech4Eva - The global Femtech accelerator Call for Application – a joint program between EPFL Innovation Park and Groupe Mutuel 👇🏽 Do you have an innovative and disruptive Femtech solution and are you looking to accelerate your progress and gain visibility? Then join the growing Femtech community of Tech4Eva and apply to this 6-month game changing global and virtual accelerator starting in May 2025! For this 5th cohort, they are looking for 10-15 innovative solutions in one or more of these areas: Pregnancy/post-partum – Mental health/wellbeing – Period health – Fertility/infertility – Endometriosis – Sexual/pelvic health – Oncology – Menopause care – Prevention/treatment – Bone/Brain Health – Immune/Heart Diseases – Nutrition/Hormonal Health – Sportstech… *Tech4Eva welcomes global solutions of all areas and stages to apply. Preference will be given to start-ups with scientific evidence, having or ideally building a clinical or animal model, or in vitro for the mechanism of action, ideally IP protected or in submission, or having proof of concept / prototype / users / data / early adopters. Program looks for founders who are committed to participate in the program activities, open to discussions or suggestions of assigned mentors, willing to share his/her network to benefit others and determined to make progress. More info on the program ➡️ www.tech4eva.ch Deadline to apply ➡️ February 15, 2025. Apply here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/dMiZptGB #womenshealth #femtech #healthtech #digitalhealth #healthcare #healthcareinnovation #startups #innovation #health #medtech #healthcareresearch #femalehealth #genderhealthgap #reproductivehealth #venturecapital #vc #funding #investment #grants #maternalhealth #periods #menstruation #sexualhealth #sextech #menopause #fertility #pregnancy #postpartum #eggfreezing #IVF #healthequity #pelvicfloor #pelvicfloorhealth #hormonehealth

Just one week ago, we announced that we're compiling our annual list of 200 Trailblazing Leaders in Women's Health and FemTech and the response has been overwhelming! We've received 300+ amazing submissions so far. 🙌 Thank you to everyone who took the time to nominate the innovators, changemakers, and visionaries shaping the future of women's health. Your contributions are truly inspiring, and each nomination will be carefully considered. If you haven’t submitted your nomination yet, this is your final chance! Don’t miss the opportunity to shine a spotlight on the individuals making an impact in women's health and femtech. 📩 Submit your nominations here: https://lnkd.in/eTSbge6s (*Please make sure to include the full name and title of the person you're nominating!) 👀 Check out our 2023 list here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/dSYSNBF7 #womenshealth #femtech #healthtech #healthcareinnovation #healthcareresearch #founders #startups #scientists #investors #genderhealthgap #menstrualhealth #fertility #pregnancy #menopause #medtech #biotech #reproductivehealth #wellness #innovation #sexualhealth

We’re used to peeing on a stick to find out if we’re pregnant or swabbing inside our noses to detect COVID-19, but now there’s an at-home test for every health condition under the sun. Now, you can add perimenopause and menopause to the list. These kits test a small sample of urine, blood, or saliva, for certain hormone levels to determine if a woman is in perimenopause or menopause. But are menopause test kits accurate? According to experts, it’s debatable whether these kits can accurately test hormones at home and provide women with valuable information for themselves or their doctors. Why? Menopause isn’t diagnosed with a test, even in a physician’s office; it’s defined as going 12 months without a period, not by specific hormone levels. “The diagnosis of menopause is actually clinical, not done by a lab or a urine test,” says Cielo Gnecco, M.D., FACOG, an OB-GYN at Orlando Health. “We need to make sure patients are aware of that, and they can’t really consider themselves menopausal just because of a urine test.” Here’s what else we know about menopause test kits. https://buff.ly/48X0OxL #womenshealth #femtech #healthtech #digitalhealth #healthcare #healthcareinnovation #startups #innovation #health #medtech #healthcareresearch #femalehealth #genderhealthgap #reproductivehealth #venturecapital #vc #funding #investment #grants #maternalhealth #periods #menstruation #sexualhealth #sextech #menopause #fertility #pregnancy #postpartum #eggfreezing #IVF #healthequity #pelvicfloor #pelvicfloorhealth #hormonehealth

Indian women on average hit menopause a few years earlier than their counterparts in the West, studies show. A recent paper found that women experiencing premature menopause, particularly in the age group of 30–39 years, is also on the rise. Yet there are few resources to help them deal with it. “In some studies, the average age of menopause in India is 47 - meaning some women can hit it by 44-45 while others by 50 and this is considered normal,” says Dr Ruma Satwik, a gynaecologist and obstetrician at Delhi's Sir Gangaram Hospital. This is several years earlier than, for example, the US where the average age is 51. Doctors say the earlier menopause is a result of nutritional and environmental circumstances as well as genetic factors. But in a country where conversation on menstruation still comes with stigma and taboo, menopause awareness is lagging. https://buff.ly/4fC2XBw #womenshealth #femtech #healthtech #digitalhealth #healthcare #healthcareinnovation #startups #innovation #health #medtech #healthcareresearch #femalehealth #genderhealthgap #reproductivehealth #venturecapital #vc #funding #investment #grants #maternalhealth #periods #menstruation #sexualhealth #sextech #menopause #fertility #pregnancy #postpartum #eggfreezing #IVF #healthequity #pelvicfloor #pelvicfloorhealth #hormonehealth