Issue #103 -Why Are Women Still Getting the Short End of the Stick? 🥴

Last week, we took a closer look at the funding gap for female founders, a topic that remains highly relevant in India as well. Despite fluctuations in overall startup funding—$30 billion in 2021 to $8 billion today—only 2% of total funding goes to startups with a woman co-founder. This percentage has remained largely unchanged.

When discussing the funding gap, it’s important to understand what these numbers truly mean and what this gap looks like in practice – Consider this:  While 15% of startups that raise funding have a female co-founder, the amount allocated to these startups is significantly lower. Women tend to secure early-stage funding or smaller rounds, but as larger rounds come into play, this gap widens.

Over the last five years, women-led startups have grown to represent 18% of the ecosystem. Only 5% of the $10 billion raised by Indian startups was allocated to women-led startups —a sharp decline from 9.6% of the $25 billion raised in 2022. Clearly, structural barriers and biases still hold women back.

But the funding gap is only part of a larger issue. The gender pay gap is equally concerning, with Indian women earning only Rs 40 for every Rs 100 earned by men.This highlights the economic inequality women face, both in and out of the startup ecosystem. 

Why does this gap persist, and who are the female founders raising the larger rounds, and what factors contribute to their success?  I’ll break it down in next week’s issue!

I’m working on a piece about the funding challenges female founders face in FemTech and women’s health. If you have thoughts to share, drop me a line.

• ✨ Asan has donated 750 menstrual cups to adolescent girls in Lucknow and Sitapur, empowering young women to manage their periods with confidence! 
• 🩸 Papaya  has received FDA registration for the world’s first blood-coagulating menstrual pads, made in India!They are now available on Amazon US! This marks the first step toward showcasing a made-in-India product on a global market. 
• 💰 Hyivy Health has secured $2M in seed funding to launch their innovative smart pelvic health device, paving the way for better health solutions.

AI-driven healthcare startup Qure.ai has raised $65 million in its Series D funding round. The round was led by Lightspeed and 360 ONE Asset, with participation from Merck Global Health Innovation Fund and Kae Capital. Existing investors such as Novo Holdings, Health Quad, and TeamFund also contributed to the round, the company said in a statement.

• Integrated Biosciences, a Redwood City, CA-based synthetic biotechnology company developing therapeutics for age-related diseases, raised $17M in Seed funding.
• Triveni Bio, a Watertown, MA-based biotech company advancing novel antibody treatments for I&I disorders, raised $115M in Series B funding.
• Empathy Health Technologies, a Bentonville, AR-based provider of an app that supports individuals on their recovery journey, raised approximately $2.8M in Seed funding.
• VieCure, a Denver, CO-based provider of an intelligence platform that aims to democratize community oncology care, raised $45M in funding. The round was led by Northpond Ventures.
• Kailera Therapeutics, a Boston, MA-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, launched with $400M in Series A funding.
• Enara Bio, an Oxford, UK-based biotechnology company developing cancer immunotherapies, raised $32.5M in Series B funding.
  
• Resolution Therapeutics, an Edinburgh, Scotland, and London, UK-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, raised £63.5M in Series B funding.
• LoQus23 Therapeutics, a Cambridge, UK-based private biotechnology company investigating small molecule drugs, raised £35M in Series A funding.
• Surgar, a Clermont-Ferrand, France-based company developing augmented reality solutions for minimally invasive surgery, raised €11M in Series A funding.

• A shorter course of post-mastectomy radiation doesn’t jeopardize a patient’s chances of successful breast reconstruction, a new study finds. About 40 percent of people with breast cancer have mastectomies, followed by five to six weeks of radiation therapy to kill any cancer cells that may remain in the chest wall or lymph nodes. Most opt for breast reconstruction.
• Bacteria that causes gum disease can also raise a person’s risk of head and neck cancers, a new study says.More than a dozen bacterial species have been linked to a collective 50% increased risk of head and neck cancer, researchers found.
• Moms-to-be have long known about breast milk’s multiple benefits. Now, a global study confirms that antibodies passed from to baby in breast milk can indeed shield against disease. Immune system antibodies against one common infection, rotavirus, were especially protective, said a team from the University of Rochester in New York.
• An ultrasound test that detected 96 per cent of ovarian cancers in postmenopausal women should replace the current standard of care test in the UK according to a new study.
• Patients with fast-spreading blood cancer respond well to outpatient treatment with CAR-T therapy, the largest study examining its use in a community setting has found.
• A new study is investigating the links between infertility and long-term health issues in Hispanic women of Mexican heritage.Research suggests that female infertility is often associated with greater risks of cancer, cardiovascular disease and premature mortality. Hispanic women are up to 70 per cent more likely to experience infertility than white women, yet little is known about their long-term health.
• One in every three girls may not have access to menstrual products, something researchers are dubbing “period poverty.” According to study authors, prior research has suggested that 11.9 million U..S. girls and women now struggle to find access to menstrual products. Failing to do so could raise risks for urinary tract infections and bacterial vaginosis, and trigger absences from school or work.
• If  you sweat excessively, you’re likely to have sensitive skin as well, with new research confirming the two go hand-in-hand. A team led by Adam Friedman of George Washington University and Linqing Zhang of Virginia Tech used machine learning models to examine survey data from more than 600 people who sweat excessively.
• Scientists say they’ve discovered a protein that seems crucial to the onset of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a common cause of blindness in older people. The research is in its very early stages, but it might help lead to the first effective therapy against the vision-robbing illness, which affects up to 15 million Americans.
• Nearly 8 in 10 Americans go through the day in a fog that interferes with their jobs, their moods and their relationships. Chalk it up to sleepiness: A new survey shows that 54% of Americans think they just don’t get enough sleep.
• Avoiding couches and chairs might be a good way of keeping your back pain from getting worse, new research suggests. Finnish researchers found that when people with back pain sat even a little less each day, their pain was less likely to progress over the next six months.
• If you’re a 20-something who is unattached, having good friends is a key to happiness, new research shows. 
• Japanese researchers have successfully used a transplant of human stem cells to close a hole in a key part of a monkey’s retina. They say the achievement could pave the way for better treatment of small gaps that form in the macula, the central part of the eye’s retina.
• The number of people living with dementia is expected to almost triple by 2050—from 57 million in 2019 to 153 million.But nearly half of these cases can be delayed or prevented by tackling 14 modifiable risk factors, finds a new report published in The Lancet.

• P&G Health India, has launched ‘12 Ka Naara’, a new campaign in collaboration with one of India’s leading healthcare associations – Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI).
• Valerio Therapeutics (Euronext Growth Paris: ALVIO), a Lexington, MA- and Paris, France based clinical-stage biotechnology company, acquired Emglev Therapeutics, a Paris, France-based single-domain antibody-based therapeutics company.
• Women’s health company Perelel announced the acquisition of LOOM, a women’s educational health platform, for an undisclosed amount. LOOM’s founder Erica Chidi will join Perelel as a strategic advisor. 
• Thrivelab, a provider of hormone health services, has launched a new virtual menopause care service aimed at providing support for women across the United States. This initiative addresses a gap in women’s health care, targeting women between ages 35 and 70 who experience symptoms of hormone imbalance.
• Plum, a new player in the women’s health sector, has launched its first direct-to-consumer product, aiming to address the often-overlooked issue of vaginal area health. The company’s debut product, Plum Serum, is designed to provide a solution for vaginal dryness, a common concern for women at various life stages, including postpartum, menopause, and during treatments like chemotherapy.
• YourChoice Therapeutics, a San Francisco-based biopharmaceutical company, has announced the commencement of its second human study for YCT-529, a hormone-free male birth control pill. 

• In line with its efforts to recognise the acupuncture system as an independent system of healthcare in the country, the ministry of health and family welfare has amended the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP) Act, 2021, to include acupuncture professionals as recognised healthcare professionals.
• The Central drugs control authority may direct drug regulators of all the States and Union Territories (UTs) for uniform implementation of norms for new drugs under the New Drugs and Clinical Trial (NDCT) Rules, 2019, related to issuance of manufacturing licences or product approvals for the gastro-resistant dosage forms or delayed-release dosage forms.

📳 – Quick Reads:

• Coffee, Water, Soda: Which Raise Your Odds for Stroke? Want to keep a stroke at bay? Drink water, nothing fizzy and skip fruit drinks.
• Cycling to work lowers risk of disease, death. According to researchers who analysed hospital admissions, cycling has been proved to provide a great boost to a person’s wellbeing.

See you next Friday, friends 👋
Navneet

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