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…
Axena Health, a medical device company specializing in female pelvic health, has announced that its Leva Pelvic Health System will be included in a significant clinical study funded by the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Pelvic Floor Disorders Network (PFDN). The study, titled “Training for Urinary Leakage Improvement after Pregnancy” (TULIP), aims to compare three first-line treatments for postpartum urinary incontinence (UI).…
Almond, a tech-enabled OBGYN practice in Los Angeles, is set to introduce its Group Pregnancy Care service. This launch aims to improve maternal health outcomes amidst the ongoing maternal mortality crisis in the United States, which has the highest rate of maternal mortality among high-income nations. The new Group Pregnancy Care model offers a collaborative approach to prenatal care, which has been…
