This 5-minute report is dedicated to Menopause.
In the following 5 minutes you’ll learn:
- Introduction: Why This Matters
- Trends: What Opportunities Are There?
- Innovators: Who’s Driving Change?
So let’s dive right in!
Introduction: Why this matters
Every single woman will eventually go through menopause. Menopause is defined as the point in time when a woman has gone 12 consecutive months without a period. The average age for a woman to experience menopause is 51, hormonal changes irregularities in the menstrual cycle however start a lot earlier than that for many women. The time prior to menopause is referred to as perimenopause. The time after menopause is referred to as post-menopause.
Menopause happens when the ovaries no longer produce high levels of estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Estrogen and progesterone together control menstruation. As menopause nears, the ovary no longer releases eggs into the fallopian tubes which leads to an end of the menstrual cycle.
Common symptoms experienced by women going through menopause are hot flashes, night sweats or cold flashes, vaginal dryness, urinary urgency, insomnia, mood swings, dry skin, eyes or mouth. In total there are roughly 34 symptoms that are caused by menopause. During perimenopause a worsening of PMS symptoms, irregular periods or breast tenderness are common. It is important to note that not all women experience the same symptoms.
While menopause is a natural part of aging for a woman, some women enter menopause early due to surgery of a medical condition.
Menopause is diagnosed once a woman has gone a full year without a period. Another way for a provider to assess whether or not a woman is post-menopausal is to check her FSH levels. FSH is a follicle stimulating hormone that can fluctuate, so results of a hormone test should always be interpreted in context of the menstrual cycle. For most women though, a blood test is not necessary.
Menopause treatment is dependent on the symptoms a woman experiences. Some may not need treatment at all. Generally speaking treatments are usually grouped into hormone therapy and non-hormonal treatments. There are two main types of hormone replacement therapy - estrogen therapy and estrogen progestin hormone therapy, which can help alleviate menopause symptoms. Non-hormonal treatments usually include lifestyle or diet changes and over-the-counter medication.
Trends: What opportunities are there?
Solutions in the menopause space focus on symptom management either by helping women easily access trained specialists or self-manage their symptoms. Another group of early stage companies is focused on consumer goods, wearables or marketplaces. More and more activity is also happening in the biotech space.
Based on the treatment options outlined above our categorization follows the technology:
- Virtual Care
- Digital Therapeutics
- Consumer Goods
- Biotech
Innovators: Who’s Driving Change?
Virtual Care
Alva is a digital health platform designed to help understand menopause for each woman and gain access to personalized information assessment and treatment for menopause
Caria is a digital health platform for women in perimenopause, menopause and beyond.
Elektra Health develops a healthcare platform designed to provide information regarding perimenopause and menopause.
Evernow is the developer of an online teleconsultation platform intended to guide women during and after menopause.
Femality Health is the provider of telemedicine services intended to deliver personalized healthcare for women over 40.
Gennev is a full-service platform for women going through menopause offering feminine care products and a telehealth platform.
Lisa Health is the developer of a digital application designed to navigate menopause and midlife health problems.
Women Living Better is an educational platform for women going through menopause.
Menotech is focused on redesigning Midlife and Menopause for the 21st century. They strive to create the best menopause apps delivering community connection, health tracking & Internet of Things innovation to ensure a better connected future for women through midlife.
Mighty Menopause is an operator of a guidance company intended for women going through menopause.
Olivia is a lifestyle app that guides women through menopause providing an outlet for women to have someone to speak with any healthcare questions.
WellFemme is the developer of telehealth services intended to develop innovative new delivery models for women's healthcare. The platform offers secure online video-consultation service that allows people to meet doctor face to face, thereby specializing in women's health at midlife and menopause issues.
Bia Care is a modern menopause clinic that uses principles of lifestyle medicine to give women wholistic, personalised treatment plans.
Vira Health’s Stella is an app that supports women through menopause .
Consumer Goods
AuraBlue is a company dedicated towards using cutting edge sensing tech to keep women going through menopause at the right temperature all night long with a cooling mattress pad
Become is developing a clothing line to help women better manage hot flushes and night sweats, which are both common symptoms of the Menopause.
Kindra is a menopause supplements and relief company dedicated towards helping women avoid the frustrating symptoms of menopause through the use of personalized supplements
MPowder is the world’s first plant-based supplement powder range crafted to target the three distinct biochemical stages of the menopause.
NOBODYTOLDME is a Sweden based company that serves as an educational platform to provide information about menopause and what to expect and become educated on from a sleep, mood and libido perspective
Menopaues Microbiome is a daily probiotic, that helps balance the menopause intestinal flora, support gastrointestinal and immune health functions and enhance digestion.
Womaness offers self-care and wellness solutions for hot flashes, vaginal dryness, sleepless nights and more.
Tabu sexual wellness products designed for women going through menopause.
Attn: Grace is a subscription-based, sustainable wellness brand for women as they age.
Wearables
EloCare is developing wearable technology and a mobile app to help women and clinicians track their menopausal symptoms
Embr labs is the creator of a wearable device used for women going through menopause who need assistance with internal temperature regulation during hot flashes
Grace is the an automated tracking and cooling bracelet, ready to detect and fend off a woman's hot flushes 24 hours a day.
Madorra is the provider of a medical device designed to treat vaginal dryness for postmenopausal women.
Joy Lux is the operator of a global femtech company intended to offer connected vaginal health devices and products under the brands vFit, vSculpt and HER Intimate Care. The company's proprietary devices use photobiomodulation technology and connect to an application and online health portal, thereby enabling menopausal women to restore and rejuvenate the health of the vaginal tissue to alleviate symptoms of stress urinary incontinence, vaginal dryness and sexual dysfunction issues.
Thermaband is the developer of a smart wrist-wearable device created to help experience the therapeutic power of thermal comfort.
Nisa Effect alleviatres menopausal hot flashes with Coolet, a bra attachment device that cools you instantly.
Biotech
Endoceutics is the operator of a pharmaceutical company. The company develops products in the field of women's health and hormone-sensitive cancer prevention and treatment. Endoceutics focuses on developing non estrogen-based therapies for sexual dysfunction and other symptoms of menopause, including hot flushes, osteoporosis and muscle loss.
Estroven is a menopause relief company dedicated towards providing a full line of products to eliminate menopause symptoms
kANDy Therapeutics is the provider of bio-technical research and development services intended to offer treatment for common, chronic debilitating female sex-hormone related conditions.
MenoGeniX is the developer of drugs designed to help women treat menopausal problems.
TherapeuticsMD Inc is a major drug manufacturing with a focus on creating and commercializing products targeted exclusively for women.
Medical Device
MonaLisa Touch is a provider of post-menopausal treatment intended to deliver vaginal rejuvenation for women. The company offers laser treatments for vaginal dryness, bladder problems, itching and painful intercourse, helping women minimize the discomforts of menopause and enjoy pain-free sex.
