Irish medical device company Nua Surgical has secured €6.5 million in Series A funding led by EQT Life Sciences, with participation from Kidron Capital, Texas Medical Center Venture Fund, and existing investors including Enterprise Ireland. The funding will support regulatory clearance and early commercialization of SteriCISION, the first self-retaining retractor specifically designed for Caesarean section surgeries. With over 30 million C-sections performed…
Insud Pharma has secured $2.7 million in funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to conduct a Phase II clinical trial for a novel sublingual oxytocin treatment aimed at preventing postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), one of the leading causes of maternal mortality worldwide. The innovative treatment comes in a thermostable tablet form that doesn’t require refrigeration or skilled healthcare personnel for administration,…
Vitara Biomedical, a company developing technology to transform neonatal care, has secured $50 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Sands Capital with participation from Google Ventures (GV), First Spark Ventures, Flerie and Khosla Ventures. The Philadelphia-based company, which emerged from research at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), is developing a life support system that mimics the womb environment…
Freya Biosciences, a biotech company focused on women’s health, has secured a $10.4 million strategic investment from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, along with $1.4 million additional financing from EIFO (Export and Investment Fund of Denmark). The funding extends the company’s Series A to approximately $50 million. The investment will support the expansion of Freya’s DYSCOVERTM platform to develop microbial immunotherapies…
BrightHeart has received FDA 510(k) clearance for its artificial intelligence software designed for prenatal ultrasound evaluations of the fetal heart. The technology aims to support the detection of congenital heart defects (CHDs), which affect nearly 1 in 100 newborns. “Fetal heart assessments are among the most technically demanding aspects of prenatal ultrasound,” said Cécile Dupont, BrightHeart CEO and a Partner at Sofinnova…
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced the winners of its $8 million RADx Tech for Maternal Health Challenge, selecting eight teams from more than 80 submissions to advance postpartum maternal health diagnostics. The competition focused on developing technologies for regions with limited maternity care access, targeting the critical period when most maternal deaths occur—up to one year after delivery or…
Talkiatry, a provider of in-network psychiatric care, has announced the expansion of its services to include virtual postpartum depression (PPD) care. This new initiative aims to improve access to mental health support for women experiencing postpartum challenges. The company has launched new educational resources to help women learn about the signs and symptoms of PPD. If appropriate, women can schedule virtual appointments…
Babyscripts, a virtual maternity care program, and Lyft have reported success in addressing maternity care transportation issues in Washington D.C. through their collaboration. The partnership provides free rides to maternity care appointments for D.C.’s pregnant population. The collaboration has shown promising results, with 71 percent of patients identifying as transportation insecure claiming the free Lyft benefit through Babyscripts’ myJourney app. Users have…
