At the start of each week we share a quick “best of” from the week that was with our Inner Circle members. What’s trending in the Femtech Insider community and beyond? We’ve got you covered! In this week's brief we talk about...
- Innovation in Endometriosis Diagnostics & Care
Innovation in Endometriosis Diagnostics & Care
👉 Endometriosis 101
Just like many other conditions in the women’s health space endometriosis is under researched, underserved and underfunded although it affects around 170 million women globally (1 in 10). The most common symptom of endometriosis is pelvic pain, which often correlates to the menstrual cycle.
The majority of women with endometriosis also report comorbidities such as migraine, depression, anxiety, IBS, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, uterine fibroids, and ovarian cysts.
Women with endometriosis are at slightly higher risk for several types of cancer (e.g. ovarian cancer), systemic lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and cardiovascular disease.
👉 How Is Endometriosis Diagnosed?
As the symptoms of the disease are not easily recognized as endometriosis – by providers and affected women – many experience a significant diagnostic delay. There is no simple test to diagnose endometriosis, the gold standard is currently a laparoscopy.
The diagnostic pathway is complex and inefficient, and unfortunately treatment options currently available for women living with endometriosis are limited as well. The causes of disease are unknown and there currently is no cure. To alleviate symptoms women are usually either given hormonal treatment or may have to undergo complex surgery.
👉 The Impact
Endometriosis places a significant economic and social burden on patients, their families, and society as it affects most aspects of a patient’s daily life, including sexual wellness, physical wellbeing (nutrition, sleep, fitness), emotional wellbeing, social life, child care and the ability to have children.
It is estimated that total workplace productivity loss averages 6.3 hours per week (absenteeism), while household productivity loss averages 4.9 hours per week.
🚀 Who's Innovating?
At our webinar last week the focus was on innovation in the endometriosis space. We took a look at novel approaches in borth diagnostics and care, sharing a few of the companies we're watching closely.
Diagnostics
As mentioned earlier there is currently no non-invasive way to diagnose endometriosis. Some startups however are making strides and have identified various novel biomarkers.
- Dotlab: "A breakthrough, non-invasive blood test that aids in the diagnosis of endometriosis."
- Hera Biotech: "A sample of the patient's endometrium is collected using a uterine brush"
- Oratel: "World's first salive-based endometriosis diagnostic test"
Treatment
A diverse group of startups from biotech, to medtech to digitalhealth are working on symptom-based treatments to help patients better manage the condition.
- Digital Health & DTx: Examples are Endometrix (symptom tracking app), Endo App (Digitial therapeutic), EndoZone (evidence-based information & education)
- Pain Relief: NannoCare (sanitary pads developed to relief menstrual discomfort), Myoovi (wearable using electriv nerve stimuation technology for pain relief), MYFEMBREE (a once-daily endometriosis treatment)
👉 Want to learn more?
You can now access the slides and recording from last week's webinar.
