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EVERYTHING
What VC Is Up to In Women’s Health
What: Business analytics platform PitchBook is out with a new report on venture capital investment in women’s health for 2025, based on investment activity for over 1,000 companies.
Key line: “The female technology (femtech) sector—focused on technology-driven solutions for women’s health—has been experiencing rapid investment and growth, with more than $5 billion of VC funding since 2020 and $1.2 billion of funding in 2024 alone. … Still, many femtech startups struggle to secure investment, partly because of insufficient networks to predominantly male-led investment firms.”
Source: PitchBook
BIRTH CONTROL
First New Copper IUD Approved in 40 Years
What: The FDA today approved the first new copper IUD in 40 years. Made by Sebela Women’s Health, the company says it is a lower dose of copper than previous versions.
Key line: “’Considering it has been four decades since we’ve been able to offer women a new hormone-free IUD option, I find the clinical data supporting MIUDELLA® efficacy and safety to be very exciting,’ said Principal Investigator David K. Turok, MD, MPH, Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Utah. ‘This innovative intrauterine device may allow for improvements in discontinuation rates due to pain and bleeding and in expulsion rates. This would be very meaningful for women looking for hormone-free options.’”
Source: Sebela Women’s Health
ABORTION ACCESS
Abortion Drug Manufacturer Joins Legal Fight
What: The country’s largest manufacturer of abortion pills has officially entered the legal fray, asking a Texas court to include them as a defendant in a case brought by anti-abortion AGs in Missouri, Idaho, and Kentucky. Those AGs asked the court to reverse certain FDA approvals for abortion pills.
Key line: “If the judge grants GenBioPro’s request, the maneuver will allow the company to lead the defense of mifepristone. The company is being represented by Democracy Forward, a legal nonprofit that has filed more than a dozen lawsuits and won multiple court orders against the Trump administration. ‘The foundation of these extreme politicians’ arguments are purely political, rather than based in scientific evidence,’ said Skye Perryman, the president and chief executive of Democracy Forward. ‘The threat this case brings to abortion access nationwide cannot be understated.’”
Source: New York Times
MENOPAUSE
Survey: Over Half of Women in 30s Have Menopause Symptoms
What: A survey from UVA and Flo Health found that 55% of women ages 30 to 35 report menopause symptoms that meet the “moderate” or “severe” threshold on the Menopause Rating Scale. The survey of over 4,000 women also found that psychological symptoms like anxiety and depression peaked at ages 41 to 45, while physical symptoms peaked at ages 56 and older.
Key line: “’We had a significant number of women who are typically thought to be too young for perimenopause tell us that they have high levels of perimenopause-related symptoms,’ Liudmila Zhaunova, director of science at Flo, said. ‘It’s important that we keep doing research to understand better what is happening with these women so that they can get the care they need.’”
Source: Nature, UVA
CARDIOVASCULAR
Childhood Trauma More Likely to Affect Black Women’s Hearts
What: A study from Emory University found that Black women who experienced childhood trauma were more likely to have cardiovascular issues, especially atrial stiffness, while Black men with similar demographic backgrounds were not. In other words, the research suggests that women may have different biological responses to stress. The study was conducted among 400 Black adults in Atlanta, ages 30 to 70.
Key line: “’Heart disease is still the number one killer of women,’ says Telisa Spikes, RN, PhD, and lead author of the study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. ‘We have already heard that stress kills, but until recently, few studies have investigated stressors, especially socially derived, and how they impact cardiovascular outcomes. We are beginning to quantify what type of effect stress has—and we are seeing now that stress does get under the skin to have a detrimental impact on cardiovascular health, especially for Black women.’”
Source: Emory Health Sciences
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