🧯 Where are the biotech startups building the new menopause therapies?
The forgotten femtech segment.
Hello and welcome to Careviser by Marie Loubiere, the weekly newsletter that cuts through the healthcare noise with a single focus: productization of the latest research and tech breakthroughs.
Femtech is a hot topic these days. There is a lot of attention given to pregnancy and fertility. We tend to forget about menopause. Contrary to pregnancy, all women go through menopause at some point in their life. And it’s a painful transition time.
Trends in Age at Natural Menopause and Reproductive Life Span Among US Women, 1959-2018, Appiah D, Nwabuo CC, Ebong IA, Wellons MF, Winters SJ., JAMA. 2021;325(13):1328–1330. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.0278
🗝️ Why it matters: It is linked to multiple health conditions such as osteoporosis so it is key to get a better understanding of the demographics trends in menopause.
🔎 The study analyzes the result of a survey sent to 7,773 women in the US. The objective was to understand at what age women experience natural menopause, and if this age has changed in the past sixty years.
✅ Findings: From 1959 to 2018, the mean age at natural menopause increased from 48.4 years to 49.9 years. So within less than two generations, women experience menopause 15 months later. Among the different segments included in the study, it is interesting to note that the most educated women, especially the ones who used oral contraceptives during their reproductive life span, experienced menopause later in life. In general, women from underprivileged backgrounds, who smoke, experienced menopause earlier. At the same time, the average age at menarche (i.e., first occurrence of menstruation) has decreased so the overall reproductive life span of women has increased.
🚀 Opportunities ahead: The longer the reproductive life span of women, the more at risk they are of certain diseases such as breast, endometrial and ovarian cancers. In general, a new generation of tech-savvy women is about to experience menopause. There is a strong momentum to build digital solutions that will help them go through this tough time.
When I started looking for menopause startups, I was expecting to find at least one biotech company working on hormone-based medication. Unfortunately, I couldn’t identify any (outside of bioidentical hormone replacement therapies which lack evidence).
Hormones-based medication is controversial. On the one hand, they relieve menopause symptoms, on the other they can be linked to increased risks of cancer.
Instead, I found many startups active on the B2C side of alleviating menopause symptoms.
📱 Mobile apps: they enable users to track and manage their menopause symptoms over time, educate themselves and share their experience with a community. Caria Menopause and Midlife is one of them. Founded in 2019, they are still early and a small team of founders. They raised a seed round last year. I scrolled through the app store and couldn’t find any other good menopause apps launched recently.
👩⚕️ Telemedicine: there are a few companies offering virtual medical care focused on menopause. Alva, Evernow, and Elektra Health were both founded in 2019. While Elektra services are focused on teleconsultations and holistic care plans, Alva and Evernow are closer to being the Hims of menopause. They send the prescribed hormone replacement therapy directly to the patient. In that space, Evernow is probably the one with the most modern branding.
📦 Consumer goods: there is a wave of beauty and supplement brands focused on menopause. Founded in 2020 by a team of consumer goods veterans, Womaness sells body lotions and supplements for women experiencing menopause. They sell directly to consumers online and are also distributed at Target. Kindra was founded in 2019 and sells goods that are a bit more “technical” than Womaness: vaginal lotions, and a range of supplements.Menopoised was just launched this year with a very innovative product: a menopause magnet. It is worn just below the hairline on the back of the neck and cools down hot flushes. It supposedly replicates the effects of acupuncture but daily.
That’s a wrap for today! Don’t hesitate to reply to this email with comments, I read and answer all emails :)