Issue # 132 –🧬 The Golden Era of Preventive Care is here , Inside India’s Trillion-Dollar Leap in Biotech & Medtech – Report

✨Hey there! You’re reading the free edition of the FemTech India newsletter — your go-to source for the latest in women’s health, industry updates, and opportunities to help you navigate what’s next in your journey.

We’re stepping into a golden era of proactive, personalized care — and startups like Superpower are leading the charge. Their recent $30M Series A is more than just a funding milestone,  it’s a signal of where healthcare is headed.

What makes them different ? 

They’re reimagining healthcare with over 100+ biomarkers tracking everything from hormones to inflammation and metabolic health. It’s tech-first, prevention-focused, mission-driven, and genuinely built for how people live today. Wrapped in a bold, modern brand that people want to be part of. 

 They started from first principles — not tweaking the old system, but rebuilding it for how people actually live today.

Companies like Superpower, Neko Health, and Function Health are proof that health can be done differently. 

Less sick-care  → to proactive, human-centered prevention 🙌

India is rapidly emerging as a global leader in biotech and medtech, driven by cutting-edge AI, ML, and quantum computing, a robust innovation ecosystem, and the booming medical tourism sector.  

Patients from around the world are turning to India for cost-effective, high-quality healthcare, amplifying demand for advanced diagnostics, personalized treatments, and next-gen medical devices.

With a supportive ecosystem and investments, we’re looking at a trillion-dollar market in the making. 

📈 The future of global healthcare may just be Made in India with tech + talent.

Get the full report

Smriti Tandon, Co-founder of Online Chikitsa Mitra on a mission to reshape rural healthcare in India, with women at the heart of it all. 

Her journey started in the automotive industry,  leading one of North India’s top Maruti Suzuki India Limited dealerships. And she didn’t just lead — she broke barriers, bringing women into technical roles where they were almost never seen before. 

Online Chikitsa Mitra has set up over 550+ e-clinics and delivered 120,000+ consultations across rural India. But these numbers tell a bigger story of lives transformed, systems challenged, and women rising as health ambassadors and clinic operators.

➡️ Be sure to read the full interview

• Mount Sinai researchers developed an AI algorithm to help clinicians identify patients at risk of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).
• Microsoft launched DxGPT, an AI tool to assist healthcare professionals in diagnosing conditions, planning treatments, and improving patient care.
• Duke University neuroscientists created an AI tool to identify neuron types in the cerebellum, crucial for movement coordination.

• PB Fintech, the parent company of Policybazaar, has invested Rs 539.4 crore in its healthcare subsidiary, PB Healthcare Services, marking the beginning of a larger Rs 1,461.6 crore seed funding round that includes external investors.
• Mumbai-based brain health startup Ivory has raised $1 million in a funding round co-led by IIM-A Ventures and Capital A. Other participants included 1Crowd, Stanford Angels, and individual investors Dr Sanjay Arora, Adarsh Narahari, and Juhi Bhatnagar.

• New York-based healthcare AI company Ascertain has raised $10 million in a Series A funding round led by Deerfield Management, with participation from Northwell Health.
• US-based Biolinq, a healthcare technology company, has secured $100 million in a Series C funding round led by Alpha Wave Ventures.
• Granite Bio, a Basel, Switzerland-based clinical-stage immunology company, raised $100M in funding.
• Avidicure, an Amsterdam, The Netherlands-based biotechnology company pioneering an entirely new multifunctional antibody modality with broad applicability in oncology, raised $50m in seed financing.
• Grove Biopharma, a Chicago, IL-based biotechnology company, raised $30M in Series A funding.
• HepaRegeniX GmbH, a Tuebingen, Germany-based clinical-stage company advancing novel therapies to treat acute and chronic liver diseases, raised €21.5M in funding.
• Clinomic, an Aachen, Germany-based medical technology company, raised €23M in Series B funding.

• Guwahati researchers develop an eco-friendly and cost-effective optical sensing platform for cholesterol detection. This platform can help identify early symptoms of diseases like atherosclerosis, venous thrombosis, cardiovascular diseases, heart disease, myocardial infarction, hypertension, and cancer
• A recent research by the US consumer advocacy group Lead Safe Mama revealed that around 51 toothpaste brands, including major ones, showed the presence of lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury. These toxic substances could be posing serious health hazards to adults and children alike. 
• A study details the role of almonds as a heart-healthy, weight-supporting, and gut-friendly food. Experts have pointed out that among Asian Indians, the rising rates of cardiometabolic diseases are a concern. Dr Anoop Misra, chairman of Fortis Centre for Diabetes, Obesity and Cholesterol, told PTI that the findings of the study can potentially benefit specific populations. 
• In a breakthrough, a new form of diabetes-Type 5 diabetes- has been officially recognised, marking a pivotal shift in the global understanding of the disease.  Unlike the more familiar Type 1 and Type 2, Type 5 diabetes primarily affects underweight individuals, particularly children. This lesser-known form of diabetes, which affects an estimated 20-25 million people worldwide, predominantly in Asia and Africa, is now under rigorous global investigation. 
• A new discovery could pave the way for more effective cancer treatment by helping certain drugs work better inside the body. Scientists at Duke University School of Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, and University of Arkansas have found a way to improve the uptake of a promising class of cancer-fighting drugs called PROTACs, which have struggled to enter cells due to their large size.
• Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have discovered clues as to how our bodies turn sensations such as heat and touch into signals sent to the brain — and how these signals can be altered by inflammation to drive pain. 
• Any woman who’s been pregnant before will probably agree: Pregnancy is hard on your feet. A recent article published in the Journal of Perinatal Medicine highlights prevalent foot and ankle conditions that may affect an expectant mother and thus, affect her overall health and fitness both during and post pregnancy.
• The US Food and Drug Administration plans to phase out the use of petroleum-based synthetic dyes in the US food supply due to health concerns, Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary announced recently.
• Scientists from Northwestern University have identified that piperacillin, an antibiotic in the same class as penicillin, effectively cured mice of Lyme disease at 100-times less than the effective dose of doxycycline, the current gold standard treatment. 
• For many cancer patients, side effects from radiation can be debilitating. But a new way of delivering radiation treatment has proven effective at eliminating a hard-to-treat cancer with the only side effect being light skin discoloration, even nine months after treatment. This new treatment, step-and-shoot proton arc therapy, is the first to be used by physicians and scientists to treat a patient at Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan.
• A common vaginal condition known as bacterial vaginosis (BV) may actually be a sexually transmitted infection (STI), according to researchers.
• The NHS currently says BV is caused by “a change in the natural balance of bacteria in your vagina and is not an STI”, even though it can be triggered by sex.
• Doctors across the United States who provide obstetrics and gynecology care have been confronted with new restrictions and uncertainties – and sometimes significant legal risks – that continue to unfold in the three years since the US Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision revoked the federal right to an abortion. But new research shows that ob/gyns didn’t immediately flee states with abortion bans, although decisions were highly personal and often required heavy moral calculations.

• IKS Health, a global care enablement solutions provider, has announced an expanded partnership with OrthoNY, a leading orthopedic and pain management group based in New York’s Capital Region. 
• Vgenomics, a precision health company, and Meril Genomics, a diagnostics and molecular biology provider, have announced a collaboration to strengthen the delivery of advanced genomic diagnostics to hospitals and research centres across India. 
• Herbalife India, a wellness company, community, and platform, introduces Sleep Enhance, which is caffeine-free and made with a plant-based, clinically studied ingredient that is shown to improve the quality of sleep.
• Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, a world-leading contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) for biologics, vaccines, and advanced therapies, announced a 10-year manufacturing supply agreement, valued at over $3 billion, with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to provide US-based production of its industry-leading biologic medicines, which treat millions of patients worldwide.  
• Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the proposed merger between Aster DM Healthcare and Quality Care India under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002. The merger transaction is expected to be completed during this year.
• AbbVie, a global biopharmaceutical major, announced its entry into the Indian oncology market with the introduction of Venetoclax for the treatment of both acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). This significant milestone reflects AbbVie’s dedication to addressing unmet medical needs and improving patient outcomes in India’s ongoing fight against cancer.

• Akums Drugs and Pharmaceuticals has entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU). This strategic partnership marks a significant step in bridging the gap between academia and industry to jointly develop advanced, sustainable healthcare solutions.
• Gujarat Food and Drug Control Administration (FDCA) has exposed a first-of-its-kind clandestine operation involving the interstate distribution of counterfeit drugs using fake QR codes.
• The Parliamentary Panel on Health and Family Welfare has recommended to the Ministry of Ayush to develop a one stop portal for Heal in India initiative and explore collaboration with the private sector in healthcare and tourism industry for the growth of Medical Value Travel (MVT).

An invitation for  you to attend the upcoming Tech4Eva Conference, powered by EPFL Innovation Park and Groupe Mutuel and in partnership with Innovaud. The launch of the 5th cohort is just around the corner, and this year’s conference brings together visionaries in women’s health such as Prof. Cathrin Brisken, Stéphanie LaCour of EPFL and Dr. Khalid Zaman of UNIL CHUV to explore groundbreaking innovations in preventive health and breast cancer research.

Register Here

📳 – Quick Reads: 

• Lifestyle and environmental factors have a greater impact on health and ageing than genetics: A UK study has found that lifestyle of an individual has a greater impact on health than inherited traits
• Juice cleanses can be harmful. Juice cleanse may harm gut health, increasing inflammation and reducing beneficial bacteria, even in just three days, researchers warn.
• Generation sleepless: Exploring Gen Z’s sleep crisis and finding solutions. Youngsters are finding themselves struggling to attain the essential 7-9 hour sleep which is significantly compromising their health.

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See you next Friday, friends 👋
Navneet

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