🚺 Women's Health and Femtech + MENA Health Tech 50
Despite women facing higher risks for conditions like Alzheimer's autoimmune diseases, structural barriers hinder women's access to healthcare globally, with 500 million women lacking menstrual hygiene resources and only two-thirds receiving adequate prenatal care.
Happy Monday 👋
In recognition of International Women's Day on March 8th, we turn our attention to the Women's Health and Femtech landscape, which continues to grapple with limited access to essential resources. In the health tech landscape, we spotlight the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, where a thriving ecosystem of health startups is emerging.
This Week's Topics
- 🚺 Women's Health and Femtech. Mapping 100+ players across the women's health and femtech landscape
- 📊 Charts Spotlight. Gestational diabetes prevalence has worsened across all ages
- 📈 China Biotech. Down 30% over the past 12 months
- 🏆 MENA Health Tech 50. MENA's most promising startups working in digital health, biotech, drug discovery, and analytics
- 📖 Annual Health Tech Outlook. 190+ pages of trends, insights, and data
- 💰 Health Tech Deals of the Week. Funding, M&A and IPOs
Don't forget to check out the 2024 Global Health Tech Outlook, and sign up for our Daily Newsletters, Chart of the Day, and Impact Capital Markets. For unlimited access to over one million charts, request a demo.
🚺 Women's Health and Femtech Landscape
Various structural reasons have contributed to limited access to resources for women's health across the world. Around 500M women lack access to adequate access to facilities and menstrual products for managing hygiene during menstruation. Only two-thirds of the pregnant population can access antenatal care from a skilled healthcare professional at least four times, which is crucial for reducing childbirth mortality rates. Moreover, women are disproportionately affected by certain medical conditions compared to men. Approximately 8 out of 10 individuals with an autoimmune disease are women and women have twice the likelihood of developing Alzheimer's disease in their lifetime.
With the importance of this landscape, multiple stakeholders have been interested in bolstering health outcomes for women. The US First Lady announced a $100M initiative targeted at enhancing research for women's health. Spain's Catalonia launched a program that will provide free and reusable menstrual products for women and girls in the region. Additionally, the Queensland government in Australia has pledged roughly $650M targeted to improve women's health access in the state.
🚺 Women's Health and Femtech - Market Map
📊 Charts Spotlight - Gestational Diabetes Prevalence Worsened Across All Ages
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Gestational diabetes among mothers increased across all age groups between 2016 and 2021. Around 2–10% of all pregnancies can result in gestational diabetes, and 50% of these incidents can develop into type 2 diabetes. The American Diabetes Association reports that the probability of a miscarriage during early pregnancy increases by between 30% and 60% if a woman has high blood sugar levels. As a pregnant woman's age increases, they are more likely to develop diabetes as a result of their pregnancy. To manage these conditions, appropriate diet and lifestyle choices are a necessity.
📈 Capital Markets - China Biotech Index
HolonIQ tracks thousands of listed health companies around the world as well as acquisitions and investment transactions. Soon, we will launch a range of stock indices to track the daily performance of over 10 different sectors across Health Technology.
Our Impact Capital Markets newsletter tracks over 60 impact stock indices, including climate tech, emerging economies, and over 50 indices tracking healthcare innovation and education technology. Subscribe to Impact Capital Markets for data-driven insights on capital powering impact.
HolonIQ's China Biotech Index has declined by about 30% over the past year after reaching lows of 40% in February. Major stocks in the index have fallen over the last 12 months, including WuXi AppTec Co ($23B MCap), BeiGene ($18B MCap), and Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products ($17B MCap).
Concerns surrounding US laws limiting Chinese firms' access to government contracts have increased selling pressure on stocks, particularly those of companies such as WuXi AppTec. China's healthcare sector is facing an anti-corruption crackdown, covering the entire chain of production across the pharmaceutical industry as well as medical institutions and funds. Such developments have the potential to bring about positive shifts in patient care, fostering long-term affordability. However, they have also introduced a source of uncertainty for companies within the industry.
🏆 MENA Health Tech 50
The MENA Health Tech 50 is HolonIQ’s annual list of the most promising startups working in digital health, biotech, drug discovery, and analytics in the region.
The MENA Health Tech 50 showcases a diverse health tech landscape, with a focus on systems, hardware, and diagnostics. While research and prevention startups declined, telehealth and specialized care are gaining traction, reflecting a shift toward digital health. The dominance of AI and ML in diagnostics and analytics highlights a growing emphasis on integrating these technologies into healthcare. Notably, a younger cohort of startups is emerging, shaping the future of the MENA health tech scene alongside established players. Examples include Grinta (supply chain management), Wellx.ai (InsurTech wellness), Protai (AI drug discovery), Valeo (personalized health tracking), and NeuraLight (neurology software).
📊 2024 Global Health Tech Outlook
HolonIQ's annual analysis of the evolving Health Tech landscape offers over 190 pages of in-depth insights on market data, investments, strategic shifts, and trends in healthcare services, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and medical hardware. Download the extract or purchase the full report.
💰 Health Tech Deals of the Week
HolonIQ actively monitors and tracks deals in the Health industry, spanning across all regions of the world. Subscribe to our daily Impact Capital Markets newsletter to peruse the top deals for each day.
Funding
💳 Healthee, an AI platform for health benefits, secured $32M Series A from Fin Capital, Glilot Capital Partners, and Group11 to scale its platform and support expansion.
🧪 FogPharma, a developer in precision medicines for therapeutic targets, raised a $145M Series E from a round led by Nextech Invest to advance an ongoing clinical development.
📊 Aktiia, the world's first wrist-worn 24/7 optical blood pressure monitoring device, secured a $30M Series A led by Redalpine to accelerate Aktiia's mission to ease the burden of hypertension.
M&A
🔬 Halma, a UK-based producer of safety equipment, has acquired Rovers Medical Devices for $92M, marking the company's commitment to growth and innovation in medical technology.
IPOs
🎗️ NeOnc Technologies, a US-based developer of non-invasive lung and brain cancer therapies, announced that it expects to raise $75M through an IPO
Thank you for reading. Have a great week ahead!
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