Every Monday we share a quick “best of” from the week that was in the world of women's health innovation with our Inner Circle members. What’s trending in the Femtech Insider community and beyond? Read on!
#Trending
👉 Pelvic Health
We had a look at the femtech graduates from Y Combinators latest cohort. What stood out to us? Pelvic health, which is unsurprising after a number of recent pelvic health startup funding rounds, notably hybrid care company Origin, Renalis, or UroMems. Definitely a space to watch.
👉 Hey Jane’s Seed Round & Access to Abortion Care
The women’s health and femtech community was shaken up by Texas’ near-ban on abortion and consequently Hey Jane’s seed round gathered a lot of attention. Hey Jane offers reliable, accessible abortion care through telemedicine. Another company active in this space is Abortion on Demand, which launched in the U.S. last April.
👉 Avestria Ventures’ Fund I
Pioneering women’s health VC Avestria Ventures announced the closing of Fund I, which is a bit misleading, since the group has been around for a while. Noteworthy are 2 recent portfolio exits: Uqora Health and Alydia Health. Other emerging funds dedicated to women’s health on our radar: Amboy Street Ventures, Coyote Ventures FemHealth Ventures.
#Following
👉 Virtual Reality x Healthcare (Neo.Life)
This past week we took a closer look at BehaVR and its VR-enabled digital therapeutic for moms-to-be, NutureVR. Some further reading on this topic we enjoyed is a profile of Walter Greeleaf, the “godfather” of therapeutic virtual reality in Neo.Life.
“We’re in a period of rapid growth in virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality technologies, collectively known as XR (for extended reality). Analysts suggest that improvements to VR hardware, such as smaller devices with less latency, will support its increased adoption by consumers and many different industries. Health care, workforce development, and manufacturing are all expected to be among the sectors most affected and advanced.”
👉 Employer Health Care Strategies (Business Group Health)
A recent survey conducted by Business Group Health shared insights on employers priorities when it comes to healthcare.
- COVID’s potential long-term impact on employees
- Focus on social determinants of health as a gateway to increasing health equity and promoting systemic change
- Expansion of access to mental health care
- Virtual health health received a boost from the pandemic but there is still a role for on-site clinics
- Health care trend was 0% in 2020, but costs are expected to rebound in 2021 &2022
Ad #4. We’ve spoken about hybrid care and companies operating both virtual and walk-in clinics in the past (think Tia, Oula, etc.), but who’s on-site? Apparently an opportunity in a post-COVID world.
“As a result of the pandemic, 76% of employers accelerated telehealth and virtual health offerings – and plan to keep these options in place over the long term. But employers also see a role for on-site clinics, both to manage COVID-19 testing and vaccinations and to help employees manage chronic conditions.”
