Issue # 136: 💰 CureBay Raises $21M in Series B to Expand Rural Healthcare, Allo Health Gets Real About Sex Ed

✨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.

What’s something about your sexual health or desire that you’ve been ashamed to talk about- even with your partner or doctor? Sex is a universal need and shame attached to talking about it seems universal too. With this powerful campaign #KhulKeBolo, Allo Health is urging you to break the shackles and let go of the taboo to finally be able to talk about your sexual health needs and wants- openly and without fear of judgement. 

With this campaign, Allo is stirring conversations while making sexual health consultations more accessible by offering FREE consultations at all their 35+ Clinics and virtually across India until June, 1 2025. 

In addition to this they have launched India’s first 24×7 Sexual Health Helpline and an AI-enabled chatbot that can be accessed via whatsapp- anytime, anywhere.

Come join me for a live session broadcasting from London. I’m finally sharing a story I’ve never told before: why I left a successful career in a billion-dollar industry to start FemTech India without any industry connections, how we’re leading this global movement from India, and what it takes to stand out in today’s hyper-competitive world.

You’re invited

Born in Tanzania and raised in Edinburgh, Tanya excelled in Economics, Mathematics, and Chemistry. Diagnosed with PCOS at 15 and told it was incurable, she refused to accept it. Months of research and lifestyle changes reversed her symptoms confirmed by medical tests. That healing sparked a mission: help other women do the same. Papaya was born.

Papaya is a meal delivery service with daily supplements, all designed to support hormone health. She built it during her gap year through programs like Sisterhood Summer and Kickstart Global. In just 3 months, she launched and even won a top health award at Google HQ.

Read the full story

• AI-powered auto-dispatch systems will replace the manual process to slash delays and improve medical emergency response times at the Haryana 112 Emergency Response Support System.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the 78th World Health Assembly in Geneva via video message, underscoring the transformative role of technology in improving health outcomes.
• Maharashtra’s Bhandara Police have introduced an AI-enabled health application named ‘Arogya’ to monitor the well-being of their personnel.
• The Telangana Health Department has announced plans to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into cancer screening services, TOI reported.
• Researchers from the National Centre for Healthy Ageing (NCHA), a collaboration between Monash University and Peninsula Health, have developed an AI-driven method to enhance dementia detection in hospital settings.

• Rural-focused healthcare platform CureBay has raised $21 million in a Series B funding round led by Bertelsmann India Investments (BII), with participation from existing investors Elevar Equity and British International Investment, the UK government’s development finance institution.
• AI and RNA sequencing firm Biostate AI raised $12 million in a Series A funding round led by Accel. The round also saw participation from Gaingels, Mana Ventures, InfoEdge Ventures, as well as returning backers Matter Venture Partners, Vision Plus Capital, and Catapult Ventures.
• Hygiene product manufacturer Nobel Hygiene bagged around Rs 170 crore ($20 million) in a funding round led by Neo Asset Management, the alternative investment division of Neo Group.
• A study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings suggests that combining two cholesterol-lowering drugs could prevent thousands of deaths annually from heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular diseases. Researchers analysed data from 14 studies involving 1,08,373 patients at very high risk of heart attack or stroke, or who had already experienced one.

• The US-based Rad AI has announced a strategic $8 million investment to expand its latest funding round, backed by four major US health systems: Advocate Health, Memorial Hermann Health System, Corewell Health, and Atlantic Health System.
• Reperio Health, a Portland, OR-based provider of at-home and onsite comprehensive health screenings, raised $14M in funding.
• CellCentric, a Cambridge, UK-based clinical-stage biotechnology company, raised $120M in Series C funding.
• OrganOx, an Oxford, UK-based commercial stage organ technology company, raised an undisclosed amount in funding.
• Fertility tech company AutoIVF has secured new equity funding in a round led by Vitrolife Group, with support from Alpha Edison and IVF specialists. The company’s lead product, OvaReady, automates egg retrieval and preparation, aiming to shift parts of the IVF process outside traditional lab settings.
• ReproNovo, a biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for reproductive medicine and women’s health, has raised $65 million in Series A financing to advance its Phase 2 clinical programs.

• In a ground-breaking development, scientists at the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad (IIIT-A) have developed a low-cost device capable of separating blood plasma within minutes. The project, funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, has been granted a 20-year patent. The findings were also published in the Royal Society of Chemistry journal in the United Kingdom.
• In a significant advancement for cardiac diagnostics, researchers at the National Institute of Technology-Rourkela (NIT-R) have developed a new lead placement system for electrocardiograms (ECG) to improve the early detection of abnormal heart rhythms.
• National Health Service (NHS) England announced the decision to start offering vaccines to prevent gonorrhoea from early August. The vaccine which will be offered through local authority-commissioned sexual health services could protect individuals from gonorrhoea, a sexually transmitted infection (STI), by up to 40 per cent. 
• The World Health Organization (WHO) raised at least $170 million during a high-level pledging event held on May 20 at the 78th World Health Assembly in Geneva. The organisation expects further contributions from member states and private donors in the coming days.
• A first-time analysis on the impact of dangerously hot days, on pregnant women finds that as such days increase in numbers, there are greater chances of pre-term births and maternal health challenges. A pregnancy heat risk day is one when maximum temperatures exceed 95 per cent of historic local temperatures. In the 940 cities in 247 countries analysed in a report by the not for profit, Climate Central, it was found that the number of such days had almost doubled in the last five years.
• AI can now beat superbugs: Tool would suggest alternative treatment options for antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. Indian and French researchers have developed an AI tool that could help doctors choose effective treatments faster
• Heart failure is a major public health concern affecting millions worldwide, and can significantly impact the quality of life. A new data presented by the European Society of Cardiology. reveals that the incidence of heart failures could be predicted by the waist-to-height ratio. The data was presented at the Heart Failure 2025.
• Tackling men’s mental health gap: Experts urge immediate action as male suicide rates climb. From false accusations to emotional abuse and legal harassment, men often suffer in silence leading to clinical depression and in some cases even suicides.
• Hypertension becoming a silent epidemic among urban youth: Experts. As per the latest WHO data, hypertension remains one of the leading risk factors for heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, and premature death
• US FDA clears first blood test to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. The blood test is for the early detection of amyloid plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease in adult patients
• Hormonal contraceptives linked to higher heart risks. Studies link common hormonal contraceptives to increased stroke and heart attack risk; IUDs emerge as the safest long-term option for women. A large Danish study published in The BMJ has found that certain hormonal contraceptives can increase the risk of stroke and heart attack.

• Yashoda Hospital and Bhutani Infra have partnered to develop India’s first fully AI-integrated mixed-use campus in Greater Noida West. The campus will combine healthcare, retail, office spaces, SOHOs, serviced apartments, and hotel facilities into a single data-driven environment.
• Fortis Hospitals, Bengaluru, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Teleflex Incorporated to establish a UroLift Center of Education for South Asia. 
• The Lupus Research Alliance (LRA), the world’s largest non-governmental, nonprofit funder of lupus research, announced the launch of the Lupus Nexus Foundational Analyses, a major scientific initiative aimed at creating one of the most comprehensive and accessible lupus research datasets ever assembled.
• Telus Corporation announced a strategic partnership with GTCR, a private equity investor with extensive expertise across the healthcare landscape, supporting TELUS Health’s recently announced acquisition of Raleigh, NC-based Workplace Options.

• The National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) has introduced a practical solution to ease their transition. To support CABs—particularly those with limited IT infrastructure—NABL is recommending a dedicated software application that enables the generation and integration of Unique Laboratory Report (ULR) numbers and QR codes for certificates and test reports.
• The Subject Expert Committee (SEC), which advises the central drug regulatory authority on new drugs and clinical trials, has recommended to upgrade the status of approval for Biological E’s Covid-19 vaccine Corbevax from restricted use in emergency situation to the new drug permission in individuals aged five years and above.
• Biocon Biologics a fully integrated global biosimilars company and subsidiary of Biocon announced that its commercial partner in Japan, Yoshindo Inc., has launched ustekinumab BS subcutaneous injection [YD], a biosimilar to the reference product Stelara.

📳 – Quick Reads: 

• Can a humble cup of tea help with anxiety, stress, or even depression? Herbal teas like chamomile, lavender, and lemon balm have been linked to reduce anxiety and insomnia symptoms
• Covid-19 surge in Asia: No cause for alarm, say experts. With preventive measures including wearing masks, hand sanitising and maintaining respiratory etiquette, the recent COVID-19 surge due to the JN.1 variant could be limited.

🎉Have news to share? Publish a press release on FemTech India to reach industry-leading executives, investors, and passionate individuals.

See you next Friday, friends 👋
Navneet

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