UNICEF opens a femtech funding call offering up to US$100,000
Applications close on 4 November 2026; a functional prototype, eligible country registration and a commitment to open source are central requirements.
Women's health news archive
What changed in Women's Health
News publications across science, technology, products, policy, capital and care delivery that are working towards closing the gap in Women's Health
Year
2026
43 news publications
Midi expands virtual care for UTIs, bacterial vaginosis and yeast infections
The new service combines acute appointments with follow-up when recurring symptoms need further assessment.
Collective X raises $3.2M to put women’s health evidence behind digital products
Co-founded by Stacy Sims, the platform licenses female-specific research intelligence to health and performance companies through an API.
Allara raises $30M to expand integrated, insurance-covered women’s healthcare
The virtual-care company plans to expand clinical technology, partnerships and research across hormonal, metabolic and reproductive health.
A 300-million-test study maps changes across the body at menopause
A Nature Medicine analysis maps changes around the final menstrual period; independent experts caution against reading its “cliff” metaphor as inevitable decline.
Gates Foundation and Wellcome Leap commit $100M to stillbirth prevention
The Uzima programme will test and scale promising approaches, starting with partners in sub-Saharan Africa.
A large cohort study documents first endometriosis diagnoses after menopause
The Nurses’ Health Study II analysis challenges a narrow age-based picture of the disease, while distinguishing diagnosis from disease onset.
Google and Flo put cycle data closer to everyday health tracking
The partnership will bring Flo’s reproductive-health expertise into Google’s women’s-health features, with privacy controls central to the rollout.
WHO opens a portal to include pregnant and lactating women in trials
The WHO/HRP portal is meant to help researchers make inclusion the default earlier, not an afterthought once evidence gaps appear.
FDA creates a class II path for home-collected molecular STI tests
The classification gives molecular tests using home-collected specimens a special-controls pathway rather than treating each product as a one-off.
A huge maternal flu study narrows what can be inferred about child neuropsychiatric risk
The JAMA Network Open cohort found a modest population-level association that was attenuated in sibling comparisons.
Pregnancy complications may flag later heart, diabetes and kidney risk
A BMJ Medicine study of 1.4 million women in England links several pregnancy complications with later cardiometabolic and renal diagnoses.
A large vaginal-microbiome study links recent BV and UTIs to shared bacterial patterns
Nature Communications metagenomic data connect recent bacterial vaginosis and urinary tract infections with shifts in vaginal microbes and uropathogens.
Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies America puts $20M into two state maternal-health bets
The first state grants send $10 million each to Arkansas and Kentucky as the initiative tries to scale proven maternal-care models.
Biotia raises $9M to expand metagenomic testing for complicated UTIs
The company says the financing will expand access to its BIOTIA-ID Urine Test and support additional women’s-health diagnostics.
Flouria reaches €1.5M to grow a women’s hormonal-health clinic
Healthy.Capital’s investment brings Flouria’s total funding to €1.5 million for growth in the Netherlands and future European expansion.
WHO asks how AI is actually being used in family planning
The scoping review seeks practice-based evidence from governments, civil society and implementers, not only peer-reviewed papers.
WHO sets a 2035 roadmap for hypertension in pregnancy
The global plan connects research, clinical standards, medicines, diagnostics and health-system delivery across the next decade.
A 6.1M-person pain study gives women’s pain a global benchmark
Nature Medicine reference curves show women reported higher pain prevalence than men across all 11 anatomical sites studied.
WHO says violence is shaping adolescent girls’ health before adulthood
A new analysis estimates about 43 million girls aged 15–19 have experienced intimate-partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both.
Fetal DNA biology may be the next prenatal-testing frontier
A Science Advances review argues NIPT technology has outpaced knowledge of how fetal DNA circulates in maternal blood.
Recurrent BV may have two different paths back
A Lancet women’s-health study points to reinfection and persistent BV bacteria, while researchers test more tailored treatment strategies.
GLP-1 pregnancy evidence looks reassuring, but still thin
A Lancet review found no clear signal of major harm in most women with diabetes, while experts warned against reading that as proof of safety.
FDA gives Lynkuet priority review for breast-cancer-treatment hot flashes
The supplemental application concerns vasomotor symptoms linked to endocrine therapy; priority review shortens the review goal but is not approval.
WHO is revisiting how hyperglycaemia in pregnancy is diagnosed
A guideline group will review evidence on screening, diagnosis and classification later this month.
Absci sketches a 2027 Phase 2 trial for its AI-designed endometriosis antibody
The proposed STORYLINE study would test ABS-201 in about 150 participants, subject to protocol finalization and regulatory clearance.
WHO expands contraception guidance and maps a path for male methods
The update adds longer-use options for some existing methods and WHO’s first target product profile for new male contraceptives.
Teal Health raises $22M to scale at-home HPV screening
The company says the Series A will expand payer, health-system and employer access before broader insurance coverage begins in 2027.
EndoFusion shows how AI could shorten endometriosis diagnosis
The early framework combined MRI and ultrasound learning to detect signs of advanced disease, but it is not ready to replace clinical validation.
NIH puts $21M behind digital twins for hormone biology
Six awards will build computational models from human data to study how hormones change across people, tissues and life stages.
Samsung launches AI ultrasound tools for fibroids and high-risk pregnancy
The HERA Z10 combines automated fibroid mapping, three-dimensional microvascular imaging and workflow features for obstetric and gynecologic scans.
Reproductive healthtech is scaling faster than its evidence
A UCL commentary argues that apps, wearables, at-home tests and telehealth need stronger clinical validation and clearer integration into care.
ProFound receives up to $35M for AI-enabled pre-eclampsia discovery
The Gates Foundation-backed program will search for proteins, biomarkers and therapeutic targets; it is discovery funding, not a treatment milestone.
AbCellera reports hot-flash reductions after one dose of ABCL635
Company-reported Phase 2 results in 92 postmenopausal participants support further study, but are not yet a regulatory decision or peer-reviewed confirmation.
A three-million-record study links endometriosis with higher diabetes risk
The retrospective analysis found an association with type 2 diabetes, particularly before menopause, but cannot show that endometriosis causes diabetes.
NIH puts women’s-health innovation infrastructure in one place
A refreshed federal hub brings together small-business funding, data resources and research programs spanning the female life course.
EMAS proposes a precision-and-digital model for menopause care
The 2026 framework combines prevention, personalized treatment, digital monitoring and cross-specialty care—but it is a position statement, not a clinical trial.
FDA authorizes a first-of-its-kind contained gynecologic morcellation system
The Claria System received De Novo authorization for contained tissue reduction during laparoscopic hysterectomy in a limited patient population.
Australia expands all 33 endometriosis clinics into menopause care
The national model links pelvic pain, perimenopause and menopause support through existing multidisciplinary services.
A new femtech framework asks who innovation actually reaches
The proposed model puts access, regulation, representation and health-system fit alongside product growth.
WHO adds an AI route to sexual and reproductive health guidance
The tool is part of a wider digital-innovation program intended to make trusted SRHR guidance easier to find and use.
EndoSure gains a European CE mark—but its evidence questions are not settled
The non-invasive endometriosis test can be marketed in the EU, while US use remains research-only and independent clinical validation is still limited.
The endometriosis peptide ENDO-205 can now begin human testing
FDA clearance of an investigational application allows a planned Phase 1 study to proceed; it is not approval of the treatment, and no human efficacy data have been reported.
Year
2025
18 news publications
FDA approves the first generic low-dose estradiol vaginal insert
The generic version of Imvexxy adds another potential access route for painful sex associated with menopausal vulvar and vaginal atrophy.
WHO issues its first global guideline on infertility care
Forty recommendations address prevention, diagnosis, staged treatment, psychosocial support and the affordability of fertility care.
FDA begins changing broad boxed warnings on menopause hormone therapies
The agency said it would ask manufacturers to revise several class-wide risk statements while retaining the endometrial-cancer warning for systemic estrogen used alone.
FDA approves a new non-hormonal treatment for menopause hot flashes
Lynkuet, or elinzanetant, was approved for moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms using evidence from three phase 3 studies.
FDA expands an HPV assay to self-collected vaginal samples in healthcare settings
Abbott’s Alinity m HR HPV assay can use a self-collected sample when cervical collection is contraindicated or otherwise cannot be obtained.
The Invisible Side of Ultrasound: AI Uncovers What Doctors Can’t See
InsideHer’s September 2025 report on Prenaital, ultrasound analysis and BioInnovation Institute funding.
Blood, Sweat, and No Shame: Chelsea FC Women & Here We Flo Smash Period Stigma in Sport
Chelsea FC Women and Here We Flo put menstrual stigma on the pitch in their September 2025 campaign.
Fertility Innovation Takes a Leap: Portfolia Backs Gameto
InsideHer’s September 2025 report on Portfolia’s investment in Gameto and its fertility technology.
August FemTech Roundup
The original InsideHer roundup of women’s health funding, companies and research in August 2025.
Gates Foundation commits $2.5B to women’s-health R&D
The five-year commitment targets more than 40 innovations across maternal, menstrual, gynecological and sexual health, with an emphasis on lower-resource settings.
WHO publishes a digital blueprint for blood-pressure self-monitoring in pregnancy
The standards package translates pregnancy self-care guidance into workflows and data requirements that health systems and software teams can implement.
WHO gives apps and chatbots a vetted family-planning content base
A new toolkit translates clinical guidance into adaptable messages for digital services, social platforms and conversational tools.
FDA authorizes the first home collection device for cervical screening
The Teal Wand created a new US device category for self-collecting and transporting vaginal samples for an approved HPV assay.
WHO turns maternal and perinatal guidance into a living digital resource
More than 300 recommendations are now available through MAGICapp with links to the evidence behind them.
FDA authorizes the first fully at-home test for three common STIs
Visby Medical’s over-the-counter test detects chlamydia, gonorrhea and trichomoniasis from a self-collected vaginal swab in about 30 minutes.
Australia commits $573.3M to contraception, menopause and pelvic-pain access
The national package combines medicine subsidies, longer consultations and an expanded clinic network rather than treating each gap separately.
The UK launches a 700,000-person test of AI in breast screening
The EDITH trial will assess whether AI can support radiologists in routine mammography without weakening screening safety.
Granata Bio raises $15M for a reproductive-health drug pipeline
The fertility-focused biopharma company said its Series A+ would advance existing programs and explore additional reproductive-health assets.