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...
- Highlights: On Contraception and Precision Medicine & Femtech Platforms in Asia
- Spotlight: The US Baby Formula Shortage
- Femtech Investment Round-up: May 2022
- And more!
Headlines
➡️ Adyn's Public Launch: On Contraception and Precision Medicine
Adyn is a precision medicine company that combines hormone measurements with genetic analysis to generate medically actionable insights for every individual. Last week the company launched its first product, The Birth Control Test, that is designed to prevent birth control side effects. Adyn raised $2.5M a little more than a year ago and its launch is yet another reminder for the big need for better contraception options and the rise of a new league of startups built on the premise of precision medicine.
➡️ Femtech in Asia: The Rise of Platform Companies
A few weeks ago we talked about Ordinary Folk, a Singapore-based women's health platform company that is expanding to Hong Kong. Ease Health, a femtech startup with a somewhat similar scope and value proposition in the women's health space, announced its launch in the Philippines last week. Over the past months (year?) we've written quite extensively about consolidation and the "women's health platform play" that is slowly but surely making its way from the US (think Hims/Hers, Ro/Rory, FemTech Health) to Europe (think Nabla, Wellster). And it seems Asia is now catching up with these recent announcements and increasing interest and momentum in the space. Tip: For those looking to follow the Asian femtech ecosystem, fermata is a great ecosystem builder to watch in the region.
Femtech Investment Round-up: May 2022
As every month we share an overview of all the fundraising news we covered on Femtech Insider with you, our Inner Circle audience. Check out our May 2022 Femtech Investment Round-up here or visit our Investment Round-up Archive in the Inner Circle Member Hub.
🌟 Some Highlights:
Women’s health biotech company Oviva raises $11.5M in seed funding to address ovarian aging.
Maternal health startup Mahmee raises a $9.2M Series A to invest in growth and partnerships.
Cayaba Care raises a $12M Series A to expand maternity health access and services to underserved populations.
Biotech company Mirvie raises $60M for its RNA platform focused on early prediction of pregnancy complications.
Anja Health raises $4.5M in seed funding to make cord blood stem cell banking accessible and affordable for all.
For an overview of all deals we covered in May 2022 (and more!), check out our round-up below! 👇
Spotlight: The US Baby Formula Shortage
Over the past few weeks we've been following the developments around the U.S.infant formula shortage, so we thought it was about time we spend some time on the topic in our Inner Circle newsletter! Read on for a primer and a selection of startups who are active in this space!
What's happening?
Since the beginning of the pandemic supply chain issues have impacted the shipping of countless products, including the ingredients used in baby formula which led to less production. In February Abbott Laboratories, one of the largest manufacturers, had to initiate a recall of powdered instant formula produced at one of their facilities after receiving reports of bacterial infection in several infants. The combination of these overall supply issues has resulted in an infant formula shortage in the U.S. (More on this)
According to Bloomberg "low-income people are particularly struggling. In many states, Abbott is the sole contractor for low-income families who get benefits through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, known as WIC. That means parents shopping for formula have to take the extra step of contacting their local WIC office for alternatives or pay out of their own pocket, which often results in serious financial pressure.
According to the CDC, only 25% of babies are exclusively breastfed by six months.
Which startups are innovating in this space?
Startups innovating in this space are either working on access or reinventing infant formula from scratch. We've listed a few of the companies we're following below:
Bobbie is a baby formula delivery startup that sells direct-to-consumer and offers a subscription service to parents across the US.
Kate Farms offers nutritionally advanced, plant-based tube feeding and enteral formulas that are well-tolerated by patients.
BIOMILQ is a woman-owned, science-led, and parent-centered biotech startup developing novel technology to make human milk outside the body.
Helaina makes first-of-its-kind, nature-equivalent breast milk components that build immunity
NAMUH’s proprietary technology allows them to recreate the fiber-equivalents of human milk, called human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), by yeast fermentation.
ByHeart is an infant nutrition company that translates nutrition science and breastmilk research into evolved foods and formulas.
(We're working on a piece that also includes innovation we're seeing in the breastfeeding space. Spoiler: There's a lot happening! Stay tuned!)
