Every Monday 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 Endometriosis Awareness Month, plus...
- Male (In)Fertility
- Careers in Femtech and Women's Health Innovation
- Startup Spotlight: Gaia & Syrona Health
- And more!
It's Endometriosis Awareness Month!
March isn't just Women's History Month, it's also Endometriosis Awareness Month, so in today's brief, we'd like to take a closer look and share some of the opportunities we see in the space with you! 👀
➡️ 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.
🤓 So now that you know more about endometriosis... Curious what the challenges and opportunities are or who the innovators are in the endometriosis space?
More in our 5-Minute Brief Endometriosis brief here.
Let's Talk about Male (In)Fertility!
DTC healthcare company Ro has acquired Dadi, a fertility company specializing in the facilitation of sperm testing, analysis, and storage. The deal follows Ro’s recent $150M raise and another acquisition in the fertility space, Modern Fertility, last summer. Following the Dadi acquisition Ro is now launching the Ro Sperm Kit, an updated and rebranded offering powered by Dadi’s proprietary collection, testing, and storage kit.
Semen analysis and storage are critical fertility services as, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, about one-third of infertility cases are associated with fertility problems in men. Declining fertility rates are amongst the most pressing health concerns and according to the NHS, infertility affects 3.5 million people in the UK alone. In addition, sperm counts are almost half the level they were 40 years ago.
So.. Quite the opportunity, right?! Unsurprisingly besides Dadi there is a growing number of companies focused on male fertility and today we'd like to introduce you to some of them!
👉 Companies Focused on Male Fertility
Legacy is a digital fertility clinic for men.
Fellow is a a sperm testing and storage startup.
Exseed fdsf
Sapyen is an Australian men’s fertility platform focused on sperm health.
👉 Fertility Companies Offering Prenatal Supplements for Men
Bird&Be, Perelel & Natalist
We're sure many more will follow in their footsteps, especially now as activity and attention is picking up following the Dadi/Ro news and Exseed's latest seed round, that was announced just two weeks ago.
Startup Spotlight!
Wanna know which startups get us excited these days? Below are a few of our recent (femtech-healthtech-ish) discoveries or companies worth mentioning #becausereasons. :)
Gaia: "A new way to pay for IVF. Monthly if you have a baby. A fraction of the cost if you don't."
Syrona Health: "Employee benefits from Endometriosis through to Menopause." Just joined Y-Combinator's latest cohort.
